Along with
Shinto shrines,
Buddhist temples in Japan are considered by everyone to be among the most numerous, famous and important religious buildings. The
Japanese word for a
Buddhist temple is , and the same
kanji also has the pronunciation
ji, so temple names often end with
-ji or
-dera. There is also another ending, . Famous temples as
Enryaku-ji,
Kiyomizu-dera, and
Kotoku-in illustrate the naming patterns.