What Are Monzeki Temples? A List of Kyoto's Monzeki Temples

What "monzeki" means: a temple's rank and a title for its chief priest

Monzeki (門跡) is a name for high-ranking temples whose chief priests have come from the Imperial Family, the regent families, and similar backgrounds. The chief priest himself is also sometimes called monzeki; Ninna-ji, for example, writes of its successive chief priests of imperial birth as "chief priest (monzeki)." Some temples still use monzeki in their names today, as in "Shōren-in Monzeki" and "Manshu-in Monzeki."

How each temple became a monzeki differs. Zuishin-in in Yamashina Ward says that it received an imperial decree making it a monzeki from Emperor Go-Horikawa in 1229 (Kangi 1) and called itself Zuishin-in Monzeki (随心院門跡), and that monzeki later came to it from the two regent families of Kujō and Nijō. Sanzen-in in Ōhara is said to have become a monzeki headed by imperial princes and members of the Imperial Family from the late Heian period on.

Miya monzeki and ama monzeki (bikuni gosho)

Among monzeki temples, those whose chief priests were hō-shinnō or nyūdō shinnō are called miya monzeki, and one way of counting puts their number at 13. In Kyoto City, Ninna-ji, Daikaku-ji, Kajūji, Sanzen-in, Shōgo-in, Jissō-in, and others are regarded as miya monzeki. In the Tendai school, Shōren-in, Sanzen-in, Manshu-in, Myōhō-in, and Bishamondō have long been honored as the "Gokashitsu Monzeki" (five Tendai monzeki).

Monzeki convents headed by imperial princesses and the like are called ama monzeki, and they were also called bikuni gosho (比丘尼御所, nuns' palaces). Many have gosho (palace) titles: Daishō-ji is also called "Otera Gosho" (御寺御所), Hōkyō-ji "Dodo no Gosho" (百々御所), Reikan-ji "Tani no Gosho" (谷の御所), and Rinkyū-ji "Otowa Gosho" (音羽御所). Hōkyō-ji is also called the "Doll Temple," and many dolls have been handed down at convent monzeki temples.

The abolition of the monzeki title in 1871 and what came after

In the 5th month of 1871 (Meiji 4), a directive was issued to Kyoto Prefecture and other authorities abolishing all titles of the various monzeki and bikuni gosho and placing the temples, as they were, under the jurisdiction of local officials. Then a proclamation on the 17th day of the 6th month of the same year abolished all names such as gosho titles, monzeki titles, inge, and inshitsu, beginning with Ninna-ji and Daikaku-ji, and also abolished titles such as bōkan and kōnin (the temple officials who served the monzeki).

There were also cases of imperial chief priests returning to lay life. Ninna-ji ended its history as a miya monzeki, with a line of chief priests of imperial birth, in 1867 (Keiō 3). At Shōkō-in (照高院), which stood in Kitashirakawa, Sakyō Ward, the head priest, Imperial Prince Satonari (智成法親王), returned to lay life in the Meiji era and took the name Kitashirakawa-no-miya, and when the princely house moved to Tokyo, the temple buildings were torn down. In Kitashirakawa Yamanomoto-chō stands a stone marker commemorating this, reading "Shōkōin-no-miya Ato" (照高院宮址, Site of the Shōkō-in Prince).

An official document from 1885 (Meiji 18) dealing with the restoration of the monzeki title for Hongan-ji of the Shin school and others survives.

List of the main monzeki temples in Kyoto City

The table below shows the main temples in Kyoto City that are presented as monzeki temples. The "Category" column is filled in only where the temple, Kyoto City, or a similar body states that the temple is a miya monzeki or ama monzeki; where this could not be confirmed, it shows "—". Because the number of monzeki temples varies with how they are counted, this is not a complete list.

Where can you see them now? / Getting there

Most charge admission, but the Goten Garden of Ninna-ji is free for high school students and younger, and at Shōgo-in you can worship at the Fudōdō and other halls free of charge even at ordinary times. In autumn 2026, openings of convent monzeki that are normally closed coincide with special openings of imperial monzeki.

• Hōkyō-ji (Kamigyō Ward): the autumn doll exhibition is November 1–20, 2026, 10:00–16:00 (reception until 15:30), 600 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. 1 minute on foot from the "Horikawa Teranouchi" stop on city bus routes 9 and 12
• Reikan-ji (Shishigatani, Sakyō Ward): the autumn special opening is November 20 – December 6, 2026, 10:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00), 800 yen for adults and 400 yen for elementary school students. About 5 minutes on foot from the "Kaminomiyanomae-chō" stop on city bus route 32
• Shōgo-in (Sakyō Ward): the autumn special opening is mainly on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from October 10 to December 6, 2026 (with some closed days), 800 yen for adults. About 4 minutes on foot from the "Kumano Jinja-mae" city bus stop
• Daikaku-ji (Ukyō Ward): from October 9 to December 7, 2026, a special viewing of the Shinden marks the 400th anniversary of the Kan'ei imperial visit, and you can enter the Botan-no-ma (Peony Room) of the Shinden, normally closed, for the ordinary admission fee alone. Right by the "Daikakuji" city bus and Kyoto Bus stop
• Zuishin-in (Yamashina Ward): from November 1 to 30, 2026, the principal image is specially shown for autumn (no viewing on November 2), 500 yen for adults. About 5 minutes on foot from Ono Station on the Tōzai subway line
• Ninna-ji (Ukyō Ward): the Goten Garden is 800 yen for adults and free for high school students and younger. About 3 minutes on foot from Randen Omuro-Ninnaji Station