Jōruri-ji Temple

thumb|right|200px|Standing Statue of Kichijōten|Kissyoten thumb|right|200px|Koumokuten, part of the National Treasure group of Four Heavenly Kings is a Buddhist temple located in the Nishio Futaba, Kamo-cho neighborhood of the city of Kizugawa, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Shingon Ritsu school and has both Amida Nyorai and Yakushi Nyorai as its honzon. The temple is commonly known as Kutai-ji (九体寺) because nine statues of Amida Nyorai are enshrined in the main hall, and it was also called Nishi-Odawara-dera (西小田原寺) in the past. The temple is heavily influenced by Pure Land thought. It is one of the few remaining examples of a Paradise Garden of the early Heian period. The three-storied pagoda, the main hall, the group of nine sitting Amida Nyorai statues and the group of Four Heavenly Kings are all designated as National Treasures.

==History== The foundations of Jōruri-ji are uncertain. There are several theories, including one that it was founded by Gyōki at the request of Emperor Shōmu in 739, and another that it was founded by Tada Mitsunaka during the Tengen era (978–983), but neither theory is supported by any documentary evidence. The only historical document about the founding of Jōruri-ji is the , which has been handed down at the temple. This document is a bullet-point record about matters related to the history of the temple and was copied from an ancient record in 1350, but only the part related to the history from 1047 to 1223 were copied at this time, and the history from 1296 to 1350 was newly written.The document is an Important Cultural Property. The area in which the temple is located is part the former village of Tono, and is dotted with stone Buddha statues and stone pagodas dating back to the Kamakura period. Although it belongs to Kyoto Prefecture, geographically it is close to Heijō-kyō and Tōdai-ji in Nara.