KIYOMIZU-DERA

On the slopes of Mount Otowa, the Kiyomizu-dera, is dedicated to the Kannon goddess of compassion. It is one of the most visited sites in the city, especially for the superb view of Kyōto as the sun sets. It is also classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in 778. According to legend, the monk Enshin, guided by a vision, met a hermit near the waterfall and realized that he was an incarnation of Kannon. He decides to protect this sacred area. Two years later, Tamuramarō Sakanoe (758-811), general of the armies who had subdued the rebel tribes in 776 and received the distinction of Sei-i-Tai shōgun, was hunting in the vicinity. Enshin rebuked him and taught him the virtues of Kannon. Touched, the general decided to build the temple of pure water on the spot and to preserve an eleven-headed statue of Kannon, which Enshin is said to have executed. This would only be visible every thirty-three years.
Most of the buildings were destroyed by fire and rebuilt many times. The present pavilions date mostly from the 16th century. They were rebuilt in 1633 under Iemitsu Tokugawa. The platform of the Kiyomizu, about 190 square metres, is supported by an imposing 13-metre-high scaffolding made of 18 cypress wood pillars attached to each other without the use of nails, using a traditional construction method. By heading east, we can see the Shaka-dō, the Amida-dō and finally the Okuno-in, built on the site of the Enchin hermitage. It is here that the sacred triple waterfall (Otowa no Taki), which is the object of pilgrimages, rises. Priests come to pray under the waterfall.

Stroll at the exit of the temple. When you leave the Kiyomizu-dera temple, you walk for several hundred meters on the right side of the small road to Shichimiya Honpo. After climbing a staircase, we reach a street called Sannen-zaka, lined with wooden houses and whose main activity is selling pottery. There are also a few tea houses with their gardens. Going down a little bit, you first turn left and then right to reach another zigzag street called Ninen-Zaka ("two-year climbing") which leads to the temple Kōdai-ji. In this neighbourhood, there is a street considered to be one of the most charming streets in Kyoto, Ishibei Kōji. It is a paved alley lined with old Japanese inns where you can have a drink or a snack. The Maruyama-kōen park is only a few steps away.