Place · site

Enryaku-ji

788 · 8th century

Enryaku-ji is a Buddhist monastery on Mount Hiei near Kyoto, founded by the monk Saichō in 788 and the head temple of the Tendai school. Over the following centuries it grew into a vast complex with its own armies of warrior monks, who often intervened in the politics of the capital. Oda Nobunaga burned it and massacred its inhabitants in 1571; it was later rebuilt and is part of a World Heritage Site.

Enryaku-ji
Image: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Oda regime

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Enryaku-ji. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/enryaku-ji
MLA
“Enryaku-ji.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/enryaku-ji. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Enryaku-ji.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/enryaku-ji.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Enryaku-ji’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/enryaku-ji (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻