Mimuroto-ji
Hillside Buddhist temple famed for a sprawling garden of thousands of hydrangeas and a bell dragon-head said to bring fortune.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Mimuroto-ji in Kyoto opens on a feverish samurai warlord, Masuda Nagamori, convinced a bronze dragon's head in his hall is cursed. It traces the ornament back to the 1570s, when the temple backed the losing side in a civil war and its bell was seized and broken by Oda Nobunaga's forces, leaving only the dragon-shaped crown behind. You'll hear how Nagamori tried to return it to the temple's monks, and how they responded. Look for the same dragon head, still mounted low enough to touch.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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