A golden Chinese phoenix / Hoo-oo statue on the roof of Byodo-In Temple, in the city of Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

A golden statue from a pair of "Chinese phoenix," called Hoo-oo in Japanese, raises its wings on the rooftop of the Amida Hall (Amida-do) at Byodo-In Temple, Kyoto, Honshu island, Japan. Originating from China, the symbol of the phoenix is worshipped by Buddhists as Buddha's protector. The current phoenix pair was installed in 1968 atop Byodo-In. The legend of the Chinese phoenix, a male and female pairing called Fenghuang, arose 7000+ years ago (whereas the later Greek myth of the Western world's phoenix derived independently from ancient Egypt and Arabia). Built 1053 AD to house an Amida Buddha, Byodo-in temple is one of Kyoto's 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (You can visit a half-scale replica of Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe, O'ahu, built in 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.)

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A golden statue from a pair of "Chinese phoenix," called Hoo-oo in Japanese, raises its wings on the rooftop of the Amida Hall (Amida-do) at Byodo-In Temple, Kyoto, Honshu island, Japan. Originating from China, the symbol of the phoenix is worshipped by Buddhists as Buddha's protector. The current phoenix pair was installed in 1968 atop Byodo-In. The legend of the Chinese phoenix, a male and female pairing called Fenghuang, arose 7000+ years ago (whereas the later Greek myth of the Western world's phoenix derived independently from ancient Egypt and Arabia). Built 1053 AD to house an Amida Buddha, Byodo-in temple is one of Kyoto's 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (You can visit a half-scale replica of Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe, O'ahu, built in 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.)