Nara City Tourism Association

Empress Komyo, a key figure in the spread of Buddhism in Japan, established the Hokkeji Imperial Convent in 745 and designated Hokkeji as the head of a national system of convents. Hokkeji can be roughly translated as the Temple of the Flower of the Law. Empress Komyo encouraged women in the convent to practice flower arrangement, and the Hokkeji Goryu school of ikebana continues today.

The Empress was a deeply devout woman who cared for the less fortunate. She established an infirmary and a residence for orphans and the disabled. In the Karafuro bathhouse, which was rebuilt in 1766 and still stands on the temple grounds today, she washed the dirt off a thousand people afflicted with illness.