The Miroku Bosatsu of Kōryū-ji

Designated on the day of the first National Treasure designations

The wooden Miroku Bosatsu in half-lotus contemplation at Kōryū-ji became an Important Cultural Property (a designation under the system of the time) on December 28, 1897 (Meiji 30), and was designated a National Treasure on June 9, 1951 (Shōwa 26). That was the day the first National Treasure designations were made under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, enacted in 1950 (Shōwa 25). The names "National Treasure No. 1" and "National Treasure Sculpture No. 1" come from this, but they are popular names, not serial number one.

On the same day, five buildings in Kyoto City alone became National Treasures, including the five-story pagoda of Daigo-ji, the Ginkaku and Tōgudō of Ginkaku-ji, and the Hiunkaku of Hongan-ji. Works of art and craft were designated together as well, and the Miroku Bosatsu came to be called "No. 1" as the representative of them all.

The Crowned Miroku and the Weeping Miroku

Kōryū-ji has two National Treasure wooden statues of Miroku Bosatsu in half-lotus contemplation. A hanka-zō is a statue seated with one foot resting on the other knee and the fingers raised toward the cheek in thought, also called a hanka-shii-zō (half-lotus contemplative statue). One wears a crown on its head and is called the Hōkan Miroku (宝冠弥勒, Crowned Miroku); this is the one known as National Treasure No. 1.

The other has its hair bound up high and is called the Hōkei Miroku (宝髻弥勒); from its expression, which looks as though it is weeping, it has the nickname Naki Miroku (泣き弥勒, Weeping Miroku). It too is an Asuka-period statue, and became a National Treasure the year after the Hōkan Miroku.

Theories on the statue's origin and identity

The Nihon Shoki records that in 603 (the 11th year of Empress Suiko) Hata no Kawakatsu received a Buddhist statue from Prince Shōtoku and built Hachioka-dera, and its entry for 623 (Suiko 31) also says that a statue sent from Silla was installed at the Hata temple in Kadono. One of these is thought to be today's Hōkan Miroku, and some researchers consider it highly likely to be a Silla statue brought over from the Korean Peninsula.

Whether it is the statue of 603 or that of 623, and whether it was made on the Korean Peninsula or in Japan, has still not been settled. As for the statue's name, in recent years some have argued that it is not Miroku, but research has also been presented showing that it was made as Miroku Bosatsu from the start, and study of the deity's identity continues today.

The Hata clan, builders of Kōryū-ji, and Uzumasa

The Hata were a clan that came to Japan from the Korean Peninsula in ancient times, probably as a group that arrived from Silla around the mid-5th century. Based around Uzumasa, they built the Kadono Ōi weir on the Katsura River to open up the Sagano area, and brought the techniques of sericulture and weaving. A tradition links the place name "Uzumasa" to the Hata presenting silk piled up high (uzutakaku) and being granted the surname Uzumasa (禹豆麻佐). Ōsake Shrine, which enshrines the ancestors of the Hata clan, originally stood within the grounds of Kōryū-ji and was moved to its present site at the Meiji-era separation of Shinto and Buddhism.

Hachioka-dera, built by Hata no Kawakatsu, is today's Kōryū-ji. The name "Kōryū-ji" first appears in documents in 838 (Jōwa 5), but the Asuka-period statues and the roof tiles excavated there place the temple's beginnings in the Asuka period. At the former Kōryū-ji precincts and the Tokiwa Nakanochō site to the north of the temple, the remains of many Asuka-period pit dwellings have been found.

Kōryū-ji's National Treasures and the Keikyū-in Hondō

Kōryū-ji has 9 National Treasures: 6 sculptures, 2 historical documents, and 1 building. Apart from the two Miroku, the sculptures are all from the Heian period, including statues enshrined in the Kōdō (lecture hall). The Kōdō itself is a late-Heian building and an Important Cultural Property.

The only National Treasure building is the Keikyū-in Hondō. It is an octagonal hall roofed with cypress bark (hiwadabuki), thought to have been built before 1251 (Kenchō 3) in the early Kamakura period, and is a valuable example of Kamakura-period round-hall architecture.

Visiting the Reihōden, and the Uzumasa Ox Festival

Kōryū-ji is at 32 Uzumasa Hachioka-chō, Ukyō Ward: about 1 minute on foot from Uzumasa-Kōryūji Station on the Randen (Keifuku Electric Railroad Arashiyama Line), or about 13 minutes from Uzumasa Station on the JR Sagano Line. The National Treasure statues are on permanent display in the Reihōden treasure hall (built 1982) behind the main hall. Admission to the Reihōden is charged; it is open from 9:00 to 17:00 (until 16:30 from December through the end of February), every day, and from 10:00 on January 1.

Besides the two Miroku, the Reihōden displays Buddhist statues representative of each period from Asuka to Kamakura. The National Treasure Keikyū-in Hondō is at the far end of the grounds and is a separate building from the Reihōden. Check with the temple whether it is open.

The "Uzumasa Ox Festival" (Ushi Matsuri) in October is a nighttime event in which Matarajin, wearing a paper mask and riding an ox, circles the grounds and reads a long ritual text in front of the Yakushidō. It is counted among Kyoto's three great unusual festivals and is a Kyoto City Registered Intangible Folk Cultural Property. In recent years it was held on the night of October 10, but it is currently suspended (as of October 2026).