Tō-ji [東寺]: The head temple of the Tō-ji branch of the True Word (Shingon) school, located in Kyoto, Japan. Its formal name is Konkōmyō Shitennō Kyō’ō Gokoku-ji Himitsu Dembō-in, generally shortened to Kyō’ō Gokoku-ji. Tō-ji, meaning East Temple, was so called because it was located to the east of the gate leading to the imperial palace, while Sai-ji, or West Temple, was located to the west of the gate. Both were charged with the protection of the capital. The capital moved to Kyoto in 794, and Emperor Kammu built Tō-ji in 796; in 823 Emperor Saga granted it to Kōbō, the founder of the Japanese True Word school, which practiced Esoteric Buddhism. Thereafter it became a center for the study and practice of Esoteric Buddhism.