Unryū-in Temple

This guide to Unryu-in Temple in Kyoto follows a small Zen sub-temple founded in 1372 at the order of Emperor Gokogon, a monarch of Japan's divided northern court, as a quiet retreat within the larger Sennyuji complex. You'll hear how it was destroyed in the Onin War a century later, leaving only statues of two emperors standing, and how it was rebuilt in the early Edo period with gifts from Emperor Gomizunoo. Listen for the story behind the temple's paired windows, one round and one square, and the names monks gave them centuries ago.