The temple's name literally means 'transient and empty', reflecting how this was once Kyoto's main cremation ground where bodies were left exposed to the elements during the Heian period.

Kobo Daishi, the founder of Japanese Shingon Buddhism, established this temple around 1,200 years ago specifically to console the spirits of people abandoned in this death ground.

About 8,000 stone Buddhist statues fill the temple grounds, collected from scattered graves across the surrounding hills during the Meiji era to honor nameless dead.

Adashino Nenbutsu-ji is specifically described as a place of remembrance and prayer, giving it a memorial character within Arashiyama.