Enryakuji Temple is the head temple of the Tendai sect of Buddhism in Japan and has the vast temple area stretching out across Mt. Hiei. The temple is said to have been founded at the end of the Nara Period in 785, by a monk named Saicho (767-822), who climbed Mt. Hiei and had a hermitage set up. Enryakuji is an extremely prestigious temple that has reigned supreme in the Japanese religious world for some 1,200 years and has produced founders and high priests of each sect of Japanese Buddhism.

Saicho, the founder of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, was born in 767 in Sakamoto (Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture of today). At the age of 14, he ordained as an official monk acknowledged by the country, and the name "Saicho" was given. He then went to Nara, the capital city at the time, and devoted himself to religious training and study. After becoming a full-fledged monk officialized by the country, instead of moving on with the path to enlightenment at the great temple, Saicho returned to hometown and continued training by practicing asceticism on Mt. Hiei. In 804, during the ongoing training in Mt. Hiei, Saicho decided to study the Tendai Doctrine even deeper and went to China. When he returned to Japan, Saicho worked hard to spread Japan wide of the Tendai spirit based on the "Lotus Sutra", that all persons are able to be Buddhas. In 806, two monks were authorized by the state and the Tendai sect was officially recognized. After his death, Saicho was given the posthumous title "Dengyo Daishi" by Emperor Seiwa. "Daishi" meaning "great leader who teaches and guides others” and was marked as the first in Japanese History to be honored with the title.

"Enryakuji" is a collective name for about 100 temples spread throughout 1,700-hectare precincts on Mt. Hiei and is not the name for a single structure. Mt. Hiei is classified into three areas, the To-do [East Pagoda] area to the east, the Sai-to [West Pagoda] area to the west, and the Yokawa area to the north, each area with its own Chu-do [Main Buddhist temple building]. The To-do [East Pagoda] area is the birthplace of Enryakuji Temple, where Dengyo Daishi Saicho opened the first of the temple buildings, Konpon Chu-do, and is the beating heart of all three areas of the temple precinct. The Konpon Chu-do [main temple] is a national treasure, and a concentration of other important buildings, including large halls dedicated to the founders of each of the sects of Buddhism, are at To-do [East Pagoda].

Sai-to [West Pagoda] is the area centering around the Shakado Hall [Main Hall]. Shakado Hall is one of the oldest existing structures in the Enryakuji Temple and is designated as the National Important Cultural Property. Shakado Hall was originally the main temple of the Enjoji in Mii Temple and was relocated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1595. Other structures are Jodoin, a mausoleum for Saicho, the founder of Enryakuji Temple, and Hokkedo [Ninai-do], a temple for ascetic practices.
Yokawa is the area centering around the Yokawa Chu-do [Main Hall], characterized by stage construction, with the overall appearance of a floating boat. The Yokawa area is also the location of Shiki Kodo [Gensan Daishi Hall], which is said to be where "omikuji" [fortune paper] originated, as well as Keishindo, where Monk Genshin, author of "Ojoyoshu, an influential medieval Buddhist text, lived.