Toji Buddha Temple - Word Heritage 

Toji ( To- ji, “ Eastern Temple”) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in the city center of Kyoto, Japan. It is best known for its five-story pagoda, the highest wooden tower in Japan. Toji is established by imperial edict in 796 AD and named Kyo-o-gokoku-ji, .Toji was built to guard the city. Today it is an oasis of calm in central Kyoto. 

The red-lacquered Lecture Hall (Kodo) contains a number of images influenced by Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, dating from the Heian Period and arranged in a sacred mandala with five Buddha images at the center, each carved from single blocks of wood and surrounded by Boddhisattvas, the Godai Myo-o (Five Fearful Kings) ,, the Shri-Tenno (Four Heavenly Kinds) and other Hindu deities. 

The original was built by Kulai in 825, though the present building is 16^th century. Toji]s beautiful architechure, its pagoda surrounded by a traditional Japanese garden, and its moat filled with lotus flowers, turtles and carps, adds a fairytale atmosphere to the market. UNESCO designate Toji a Word Heritage Site in 1994.