A lovely card of the Ninna-ji  仁和寺  Temple in Kyoto from an American ex-pat living with her husband in Tokyo. Ninna-ji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1994). The Ninna-ji Temple is the head temple for the Omura School of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. It was first founded in 888 and reconstructed in the 17th century.  Emperor Kōkō  光孝天皇 ordered the construction of the temple in 886 to bless the nation and propogate Buddhist teachings. His successor, Emperor Uda, saw the construction to its completion.   From 888 to 1869, it was traditional for the reigning emperors to send a son to the temple to take over as head priest when a vacancy arose. Uda retired from the throne and became the first Monzeki  門跡 , or aristocratic priest, of Ninna-ji. The last Monzeki was Junnin Hosshinno, the 30th chief of the temple.  The temple was destroyed by fire and fighting in the  Ōnin War  応仁の乱, a civil war from 1467 to 1477. It was a dispute between Hosok...