Chugu-ji Temple

Home to Japan’s Most Graceful

Miroku Buddha

Chuguji Temple is a historic Buddhist nunnery in Ikaruga, Nara, closely associated with Prince Shotoku and his mother, Empress Anahobe no Hashihito. The temple was originally founded in the Asuka period at a site about 500 meters east of its present location, and that it later moved to the area beside the eastern precinct of Horyuji. This history helps explain the temple’s long connection with the Ikaruga region and with the religious world surrounding Prince Shotoku.

The temple is also known for preserving important works of Buddhist art, including the seated contemplative bodhisattva image often referred to as the Miroku Bosatsu. For visitors, Chuguji offers a clear introduction to early Japanese Buddhism, the history of religious women’s communities, and the cultural landscape shared with nearby Horyuji.

Explore the Sights

See photos that bring Chugu-ji Temple to life.

Traditional Japanese wooden gate with tiled roof and small gate in front, surrounded by a garden with trees and buildings in the background.
Traditional Japanese wooden gate with tiled roof, leading into a garden with trees and bushes, under a partly cloudy sky.
Traditional Japanese wooden building with curved tiled roof and sliding wooden shutters, trees, gravel pathway, and a blue sky with clouds.
Wooden sliding doors with horizontal slats on a traditional Japanese building, flanked by two benches on a wooden porch.
A tree with yellow fruit and bare branches in front of a traditional Japanese house with a tiled roof.
A peaceful gravel pathway lined with green bushes on each side, leading through a traditional Japanese setting with trees and buildings with tiled roofs under a partly cloudy sky.
Close-up of pink, white, and purple flowers on a branch with a Japanese-style garden structure in the background.
Traditional Japanese wooden shrine with a curved roof, set in a garden with trees and bushes, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
A traditional Japanese garden with a gravel pathway, a white fence gate, decorative trees, and a tree with yellow fruit or ornaments, under a partly cloudy sky.
Traditional Japanese wooden building with curved roof, surrounded by trees and a gravel courtyard, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.