Tour of a temple associated with Prince Shotoku and the Fujinoki burial mound (Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture)

Ikaruga is located in the northwest corner of Nara Prefecture.A visit here is a romantic journey into the history of Prince Shotoku with wonderful temples and shrines, to note Horyu-ji Temple, Hoki-ji Temple and Horin-ji Temple, set amidst an idyllic setting of rice paddies and mountain backdrops. The Horyu-ji Temple Complex, made famous by Shiki Masaoka in his haiku “Kaki Kueba Kane Ga Naru Nari Horyuji (‘Eating persimmons, the bell of Horuiji rings’)”, is roughly in the center of the town. It is widely known as the oldest wooden structure in the world and the complex of Buddhist buildings that includes it and Hoki-ji Temple was the first cultural property in Japan to be registered as a World Heritage.