Kiyomizu-dera

Kiyomizu-dera, the "Pure Water Temple", stands on the slopes of Mount Otowa on Kyoto's eastern edge. It is one of the few temples in the city older than Kyoto itself as a capital. Tradition dates its founding to 778, when a monk from Nara followed a dream to a waterfall on the mountain; the general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro later became its patron. It is devoted to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. The main image is a hidden statue of the eleven-headed Kannon, shown only on rare occasions, and the temple is the sixteenth stop on the Saigoku pilgrimage to thirty-three Kannon temples. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto.

The complex has burned many times. The present main hall, a National Treasure, was rebuilt in 1633 with money from the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, and most of the surrounding buildings, including the three-storey pagoda of 1632, date from the same decades. The hall's great wooden stage projects over the hillside on a lattice of tall pillars, a technique called kakezukuri, and no nails were used in the whole structure. The stage looks out over the treetops to the city. In the Edo period people jumped from it, some 13 m down, in the belief that surviving would grant a wish; 234 jumps were recorded before the practice was banned in 1872, and "to jump from the stage at Kiyomizu" is still the Japanese way of saying "take the plunge".

Below the hall, the Otowa waterfall splits into three streams, and visitors queue with small cups to drink the water, said to grant wishes. Within the complex is the Jishu Shrine, dedicated to a god of matchmaking, where people try to walk the 10 m between two "love stones" with their eyes closed. The Tainai Meguri is a pitch-dark passage representing the womb of a bodhisattva. Every 12 December, since 1995, the temple hosts the ceremony that announces Japan's "kanji of the year".

This is one of Kyoto's busiest sights, and the approach streets of Kiyomizu-zaka and Chawan-zaka are lined with souvenir shops; the stepped lanes of Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka lead north towards Gion. Early morning is the quietest time. The temple is especially crowded at New Year and during Obon in summer, when food and souvenir stalls fill the grounds.

Getting there

The temple is about 4 km east of central Kyoto. The nearest city bus stops are Kiyomizu-michi and Gojo-zaka, served from Kyoto Station by routes including 100 and 206; from either stop it is an uphill walk. The nearest airport is Osaka Itami (ITM), about 40 km away, mainly for domestic flights. International travellers usually arrive at Kansai International (KIX), about 80 km away, where the Haruka limited express reaches Kyoto Station in 75–80 minutes.