It is said to be the first sacred place in Japan where people were cremated by Gyoki in 735, and the temple enshrines the Yakushi Nyorai Buddha, which Gyoki created himself, as a secret principal image. Gyoki planted and nurtured the auspicious flower of the memorial service, the bush clover, for about 1,300 years, and the temple has been loved as the "Hagi Temple" since ancient times. Even now, about 3,000 bush clover flowers bloom every autumn, and the "Hagi Festival Doryo Festival" is held. It inherited the Toshogu Shrine in Osaka, and enshrines many principal images, including the Yakushi Nyorai Buddha for warding off evil, donated by Tokugawa Ieyasu's eldest daughter, Kamehime, Doryo Daigongen, invited by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Koyori Eleven-Headed Kannon, the guardian Buddha of Emperor Godaigo, and the Jizou Bodhisattva, which was brought over from the island of Oki. There are many stone monuments with haiku poems by haiku poets, including Masaoka Shiki and Takahama Kyoshi, and the temple is visited by many writers and artists. Hagi Roen, named by Kitaoji Rosanjin, has been selected as one of the 100 best green spaces in Osaka.