Temple · Ichijoji / Sakyo

Shisen-do 詩仙堂

A poet's hermitage of 1641 in northeast Kyoto where you sit on tatami before a white-sand garden clipped with azaleas, listening to the clack of a deer-scaring shishi-odoshi.

Hours9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:45)

Closed23 May (Jozan memorial day)

PriceAdult: ¥700
High school: ¥500

Getting thereIchijoji Station (Eizan Railway), 10 min; Ichijoji Sagarimatsu-cho bus stop, 7 min

Time needed45 min

Best timeLate May for azaleas; mid-November for maples

Address27 Ichijoji Monguchi-cho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto

Websitekyoto-shisendo.net

About

Shisen-do was built in 1641 by Ishikawa Jozan, a samurai who served Tokugawa Ieyasu, then retired to devote himself to poetry and calligraphy. The "Hall of Poetry Immortals" is named after the room hung with portraits of 36 Chinese poets painted by Kano Tan'yu with inscriptions by Jozan. The house opens onto a garden of raked white sand and round-clipped azaleas, backed by maples, from which a path descends past a small waterfall and one of the earliest known shishi-odoshi, the bamboo device that clacks against a rock to scare away deer and boar. Now a Soto Zen temple, it remains intimate and contemplative. In late May the satsuki azaleas bloom, and in November the maples. Nearby are Enko-ji, Manshu-in and the Ichijoji ramen street.

Highlights

Tatami room view onto white sand and clipped azaleas
Portraits of 36 Chinese poets by Kano Tan'yu
Early shishi-odoshi deer scarer
Satsuki azaleas in late May
Maple garden in November

Tips

Sit quietly in the main room; it is designed to be viewed seated.
Walk 5 minutes to Enko-ji for its moss and bamboo garden, often combined in autumn.
Ichijoji Station area is a ramen battleground: refuel after.
Bus 5 from Kyoto Station takes about 50 minutes; Eizan Railway Ichijoji Station is quicker.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

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