Prince Shōtoku: Asuka, Ikaruga and Hōryū-ji

Tachibana-dera stands near the place where Prince Shōtoku is said to have been born, and it is counted among the seven great temples attributed to him. Legend says he converted a branch palace of his father, Emperor Yōmei, into the temple. The current main hall was built in 1864.

Location precision: The prince's birthplace is only traditional; the pin marks the temple said to stand near it.

Shōtoku led a national project to promote Buddhism, and he commissioned Shitennō-ji in what is now Osaka. He invited three carpenters from Baekje, who brought their knowledge and led the building. One of the people involved in the first construction later founded the firm Kongō Gumi, which specialised in temple and shrine building. Most of today's structures date from the last complete rebuilding, in 1963.

Asuka-dera was the first Buddhist temple in Japan with a fully developed complex. In 605 the empress ordered the crown prince, Prince Shōtoku, and the minister Soga no Umako to have a bronze Buddha made. When it was ready, the statue was taller than the door and would not fit inside. The craftsmen managed to place it without destroying the door. The current main hall dates from 1826.

Prince Shōtoku commissioned Hōryū-ji; it was first called Wakakusadera and is believed to have been completed by 607. That first temple was probably burned down by lightning in 670, and the present buildings are the reconstruction. Hōryū-ji was the first structure in Japan to become a World Heritage Site.

Visitor guidance: A working temple and tourist site in Ikaruga; many buildings are open to the public.

Excavations in 1939 confirmed that the prince's palace, the Ikaruga-no-miya, occupied the eastern part of the Hōryū-ji complex, where the Tō-in sits today. The octagonal Yumedono, the Hall of Dreams, was built here in 739 to console the prince's spirit. It holds the Guze Kannon, which is only displayed at certain times of the year.

Visitor guidance: Inside the Tō-in of Hōryū-ji; the Guze Kannon is shown only at certain times of year.

Chūgū-ji is said to have been founded when Shōtoku converted the palace of his mother, Princess Hashihito no Anahobe, after her death. After the prince died in 622, his consort Tachibana-no-Oiratsume commissioned the Tenjukoku Shūchō Mandala, an embroidery of heaven. The temple also holds a Miroku statue, a National Treasure from the Asuka period.