The monk, interpreting this phenomenon as a sign of celestial power, crossed the lake and found a pond from which the light emitted.

[1] In accordance with a belief within Chinese geomancy, the site of the temple near Lake Biwa to the east of the imperial capital, Heian-kyō, corresponded to a centre of cosmic influences in feng shui.

Thanks to the interventions of the monks Tenkai and Kōkai), the daimyō of Mochizuki Domain, and Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, the temple was gradually rebuilt, recovering its status as a major center of Buddhist studies.

Saimyō-ji is located about 11 km (6.8 mi) east of Lake Biwa,[3] on a wooded hillside at the foot of the northwestern slope of the Suzuka Mountains.

Two onigawara, a shachihoko, and many stone vestiges, such as Buddhist sculptures, lanterns, groups of Jizō, litter the mossy soil of the grounds.

At the edge of the sandō, a statue of Saichō, a Buddhist monk who founded the Tendai branch of Japanese Buddhism, recalls the religious affiliation of the temple.

A hokora, miniature Shinto shrine, dedicated to the Eastern Guardian Dragon, and another honoring Inari are signs of the historical syncretism between Buddhism and Shintoism (Shinbutsu-shūgō).

[10] Dating to the end of the Kamakura period, the temple's main hall (本堂, Hondō), also known as ruriden and designated as a National Treasure, is a hinoki cypress wood construction without any nails.

[11] The building, with an area of approximately 160 m2 (1,700 sq ft), houses Kamakura-period wooden sculptures of the Twelve Heavenly Generals, three statues forming the Pure Land Triad: Amida Nyōrai surrounded by Kannon Bosatsu and Seishi Bosatsu, two gilded statuettes representing Nikkō Bosatsu and Gakkō Bosatsu, terracotta miniatures of the monks Ryōgen and Shinran from the Muromachi period, and several important national cultural objects: an icon of Yakushi Nyōrai from the Heian period, statues of Shaka Nyōrai (Kamakura period), Fudō Myōō, works of the monk Enchin dating from the beginning of the Heian era, Kōmoku-ten and Tamon-ten (Heian period), two of the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhist mythology.

[3] Saimyō-ji is the 32nd stop on a pilgrimage route installed in 1989 in the Kansai region connecting 49 holy sites dedicated to Yakushi Nyōrai.

A building near to the main hall is set up to receive the pilgrims and the temple provides each with a certificate stamped with the official seal attesting their passage.

[3] On the first floor of the building, murals by painters of the Kose school[note 6] illustrate the Lotus Sutra, which is at the base of the religious corpus of the Tendai branch of Japanese Buddhism, and Dainichi Nyorai and his 32 attendants.

[3] Near the Nitenmon, two Japanese cedars (Cryptomeria japonica), joined at the base of their trunks, form a pair of siamese trees.

[18] With its stones representing the triad of the Pure Land, Nikkō and Gakkō Bosatsu, and the Twelve Heavenly Generals, this expanse of greenery constitutes an allegory of Mount Penglai of Chinese mythology.