Jakkōin

Convent in Ōhara, Sakyō Ward, Kyoto, belonging to the Tendai sect of Buddhism. Although temple records variously attribute the origins of the Jakkōin to Prince Shōtoku (574-622), the monk Kūkai (744-835), or the monk Ryōnin, there is little reliable information about Jakkōin until the famous Kenrei Mon'in (1155-1213), daughter of Taira no Kiyomori (1118-81), took up residence there. The convent, which figures in the Heike monogatari, contains many relics of the Taira family, and its main image of worship is the bodhisattva Jizō. (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)