This temple was founded in 646 at the request of Emperor Kotoku by the monk Hodo Sennin, who brought a golden statuette of Maya, mother of Buddha, back from China. In 1975, a fire destroyed the old wooden edifice which was immediately rebuilt just north of the original site, near the top of Mount Maya. On a clear day, the terrace, graced with a Japanese stone garden, commands a splendid view of the Inland Sea, Awaji island and Akashi bridge in the distance.