Saifukuji

Saifukuji temple sits at the entrance to what was historically one of Kyoto’s primary burial grounds, Toribeno. The site is marked by a distinctive flower ceiling, where sixty-four panels are painted with images of irises, gerberas, and bougainvillea. Dedicated in nineteen eighty-three to honor the eleven hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the death of Empress Danrin, these bright floral paintings contrast with the temple's sobering association with the impermanence of life.