Visitors look at displayed items associated with Kyonyo (April 1, Amida Hall, Higashi Honganji Temple, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto)

A memorial exhibition called "Kyonyo Shonin-ten" to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of St. Kyonyo (1558-1614), the founder of Higashi Honganji Temple which is the headquarters of the Shinshu Otani sect of Buddhism, started on April 1 at the temple in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, featuring items associated with him.

The exhibition was planned in order to study the spirit of Kyonyo and was set to coincide with "Haru-no-Hoyo," a spring ceremonial rite of the temple that started on the same day, at Amida Hall which is currently under restoration.

There are a total of 80 paintings, statues, hanging scrolls and documents on exhibit that trace the history of his life. Visitors can catch a glimpse of the devotion Kyonyo's fervent disciples had, who advocated out-and-out resistance to Nobunaga Oda, when viewing "Keppan Amida Nyorai-zo," or statue of Amitabha Tathagata, from the Azuchi-Momoyama Period which is owned by a temple in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture, that has a seal of blood from those 342 disciples from the northern area of Lake Biwa.

Other items on exhibit include Kyonyo's handwritten "Juji-no-Myogo," or ten characters of Buddha's name, owned by a disciple in Komatshu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Kyonyo's handwritten letters to disciples. There are also paintings and statues of his family, including his father, St. Kennyo, and mother, Nyoshunni. The exhibition continues until April 7. There is no admission fee.

The spring ceremonial rite continues until April 6. Other events held at this time are a memorial service to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Kyonyo's death from April 2 to 4, a gathering for children called "Kodomo-no-Tsudoi" on April 5, and a Buddhist memorial service for all the war dead on April 6.