Daian-ji

This guide to Daian-ji in Nara opens with a monk's flute and hot sake poured into bamboo, then reaches back to a temple founded by Emperor Jomei in 639 that grew into one of Nara's seven great temples before fires reduced it to a single hall. It follows the story of Emperor Konin's habit of praying and drinking sake among the temple's bamboo groves, and how that royal habit turned into a citywide health ritual after his death. Listen for the flute before you catch the scent of warm sake drifting through the bamboo.