Myōshin-ji is the head temple of the largest Rinzai Zen branch in Japan and, on the ground, a small walled town: an entire enclosed precinct in western Kyoto containing more than forty sub-temples connected by stone-paved lanes. Most are private and closed to visitors, but the experience of walking the long quiet alleys between white-washed walls is itself worth the visit.
Two of the open sub-temples are particularly worth a stop: Taizō-in, with one of Kyoto's most carefully composed strolling gardens; and Daishin-in, where for a small additional fee you can sit in formal zazen meditation with the resident monks. The main Dharma Hall houses one of the best-preserved Edo-period ceiling dragon paintings in the country — a single 90-square-metre coiled dragon by Kanō Tanyū, painted in 1657 over the course of eight years.