Abe Monjuin is a temple at the southern end of Nara prefecture before the mountains of Wakayama prefecture. Founded in the 7th century, it is claimed to be one of the oldest temples in Japan. The temple is home to Monju Bosatsu, the Buddha of Wisdom, which is depicted as a wooden carving of the Buddha sitting atop the back of a great lion. With a sword in hand, Monju cuts through the ignorance in the world.

In addition to the temple's natural prominance as a premier temple of ancient Japan, Abe Monjuin is also the birthplace of famed figure Abe no Seimei, an onmyoji of the Imperial Court. Onmyoji were spiritual advisers that interpreted divinations, advised in spiritual counceling, and used wards and enchantments to ward off evil spirits. Abe no Seimei was exceedingly skilled in his duties that his family, the Abe, would be tasked with the Bureau of Onmyo until it was disbanded in the Meiji Restoration of the 19th century. Abe no Seimei quickly became a legend following his death and many of his deeds were embellished with spiritual overtones. For example, it was said that his affinity for divination was due to his mother, a fox whom his father had saved from a hunt and in tern she turned into a human and bore him a son. This means that Seimei was part yokai, or part mystic beast if you will, and therefore was also skilled at controling other yokai to do his bidding. Likely none of this is true, but the niche that Abe no Seimei occupies is the legends of Japan means that Abe Monjuin is a temple of divine and auspicious association.

For the casual: 4. For the educated: 8.

Abe Monjuin is a beautiful temple in southern Nara, but that's not why I rated this temple lowly for casual visitors. The temple takes some time to get to considering how far you need to travel if you're planning on visiting from somewhere like Osaka or Kyoto. With all that distance traveled, the temple really needs to have a serious visual draw to make it worth it all, but it doesn't. Abe Monjuin is far more suited to those that want to tap into the auspicious luck that the temple draws, or those who are familiar with the legends that surround the temple itself.

That being said, I don't want to snub the beauty of the temple or the images inside. The temple is small, but a hexagonal pavilion in the middle of a pond offers visitors a fairly beautiful sight. The pavilion is meant to be a center for divination, dividing the universe into its auspicious directions and the like. Inside the pavilion are some treasures of the temple on display as well as an altar to Abe no Seimei. The Hondo hall of the temple is home to the massive statue of Monju that I mentioned earlier. It was taller than I had expected and also far more beautiful. Photos of the statues are available online, but photographs indoors are prohibited. I do recommend visiting this temple for anyone who is willing to make the trip or is in the area, regardless of how I ranked the temple.

Happy Year of the Dog with the complex in the background.