is a Buddhist temple located in the Besshà  neighborhood of the city of Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The temple's full name is . It belongs to the Tendai sect of Japanese Buddhism, and its honzon is a statue of Senjà « Kannon and Yakushi Nyà Ârai. Its ground so have been designated a National Historic Site since 2016
The early history of the temple is unknown. According to the temple's own legend, during the second year of Empress Suiko (594), Chishun Shà Ânin of Shinano prayed at the Uro-no-taki Waterfall at Mount Tabushi and healed Empress Suiko's eye disease, so a temple was built by imperial request. The name of the temple, Gakuen-ji, comes from the legend that when Chishun Shà Ânin was training near Uro-no-taki Falls, he accidentally dropped a Buddhist object into the basin of the waterfall, and a "crocodile" offered it back to him. Manpuku-ji, another temple in Izumo city shares the same legend. Shimane Prefecture, where Gakuen-ji is located, and neighboring Tottori Prefecture were thriving areas of the Shugendà  mountain worship and this temple is thought to have developed as a training ground centered around the Uro-no-taki Falls. The Uro-no-taki Falls is located about 500 meters up the mountain stream from the entrance of Gakuen-ji. The temples does have two bronze statues of Kannon which are dated 692. While these would seem to verify the antiquity of the temple, there are no records as to when the temple came into the possession of these statues. The statues were collectively designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1902.
The temple converted to the Tendai sect when Ennin visied the region. A sutra mound in the temple grounds was found to contain a cylinder with an inscription dated between 1151 and 1153. The temple is mentioned in an imayà  included in Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa's "Ryà Âjinhishà Â" anthology at the end of the Heian period.ãÂÂHowever, until the end of the Heian period, Gakuen-ji was located in Karakawa, slightly to the west of its current location. Another temple (with Yakushi Nyorai as its principal image) in Hayashigi (present-day Izumo City) was absorbed by this. After that, Gakuen-ji was divided into the "North Temple", whose principal image was Senjà « Kannon, and the "South Temple", whose principal image was Yakushi Nyà Ârai.
During the Kamakura period, the temple prospered under the protection of the Sasaki clan, who were shugo of Izumo Province and through relationship as bettà  of Izumo-taisha, which is located to the southwest. There is also a legend that Benkei, the monk-retainer of Minamoto no Yoshitsune trained at Gakuen-ji for three years from the age of 18, and that he returned to this temple after helping defeat the Taira clan at the Battle of Dannoura. The bonshà  which Benkei is said to have donated to this temple is a National Important Cultural Property.
During the Nanboku-chà  period, the "North Temple" and the "South Temple" of Gakuen-ji supported opposing sides in the conflict. When Emperor Go-Daigo was exiled to the Oki Islands, the head priest of the South Temple visited the Emperor and received a written pledge that he would construct a Yakushi-dà  chapel if his prayers that the Kamakura shogunate would be overthrown were fulfilled. This document still exists and has been designated a National Important Cultural Property. The two branches of the temple reconciled in 1347, at which time the temple was relocated to its present location and the temple rebuilt with the unusual feature of having two honzon main images. During the Sengoku period, when Mà Âri clan invaded Izumo Province, the temple and its sà Âhei armed monks supported the Mà Âri against the Amago clan, leading to the Mà Âri victory. However, after the start of the Edo period, the temple fell into a long slow decline.
The temple is located approximately 25 minutes by car from Unshà «-Hirata Station on the Ichibata Electric Railway Kita-Matsue Line. The temple has a large number of cultural assets, most of which are either not open to the public or have been deposited at the Ancient Izumo Historical Museum.