Juniperus rigida, the temple juniper, is a species of juniper, native to northern China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and the far southeast of Russia (Sakhalin and Primorsky Krai), occurring at altitudes of 10–2,200 metres (33–7,218 ft).

[2][3] It is a shrub or small tree growing to a height of 6–10 metres (20–33 ft) and a trunk diameter up to 50 centimetres (20 in).

The leaves are evergreen, needle-like, in whorls of three, bright green to yellowish-green, 10–23 millimetres (1⁄2–1 in) long and 1–1.3 mm broad, with a single white stomatal band on the inner surface.

The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to dark purple or brownish with a variable whitish waxy coating; they are spherical, 5–9 mm diameter, and have three (rarely six) fused scales in one (rarely two) whorls of three, each with a single seed (when six scales, only the three larger scales with seeds).

[2][3] It is grown as an ornamental tree, often planted in temple grounds in Japan.