is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temple located in eastern

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The temple is part of the

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) encompasses 17 locations in Japan within the city of Kyoto and its immediate vicinity. In 794, the Japanese imperial family moved the capital to Heian- ...

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

The temple was established in 778, during the late

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, by

Enchin Shonin (814–891) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded of the Jimon school of Tendai Buddhism and Chief Abbot of Mii-dera at the foot of Mount Hiei. After succeeding to the post of Tendai , in 873, a strong rivalry developed between his followers ...

, who was a priest from

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

(the capital of Japan from 710 to 784). He is said to have received a vision telling him to construct the temple next to the Otowa spring. In 798, the

shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Sakanoue Tamuramaro was a court noble, general and ''shōgun'' of the early Heian period of Japan. He served as Dainagon, Minister of War and ''Ukon'e no Taisho'' (Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards). He held the ''kabane'' of Ōsukune an ...

improved the site by including a large hall that was reassembled from the palace of

Emperor Kammu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...

(r. 781–806). The emperor had left Nara to escape the strong influence that the Buddhist monasteries had on the government there. During this period there was a strong rivalry between the Kofuku-ji and the Kiyomizu-dera temples, and both had influence around the region. Many of the temple's present buildings were constructed in 1633 on the orders of the shogun

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

. There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. ''Kiyomizu'' means "pure water". It was originally affiliated with the old and influential Hossō sect, dating from Nara times.Graham (2007), p. 32 However, in 1965 it severed that affiliation, and its present custodians call themselves members of their own Kita-Hossō (Northern Hossō) sect.

Present

The expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" is the Japanese equivalent of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

expression "to take the plunge". This refers to an

Edo-period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

tradition that held that if one survived a jump from the stage, one's wish would be granted. During the Edo period, 234 jumps were recorded, and of the jumpers, 85.4 per cent survived. The practice was prohibited in 1872. The temple complex includes several other shrines, among them the Jishu Shrine, dedicated to

Ōkuninushi Ōkuninushi (; historical orthography: , ), also known as Ō(a)namuchi (''Oho(a)namuchi'') or Ō(a)namochi (''Oho(a)namochi'') among other variants, is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths re ...

, a god of love and "good matches". Jishu Shrine possesses a pair of "love stones" placed apart, which lonely visitors can try to walk between with their eyes closed. Success in reaching the other stone with their eyes closed implies that the pilgrim will find true love. The complex also offers various talismans, incense, and ''

omikuji are random Prophecy, fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred Cleromancy, lot", these are usually received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping fo ...

'' (paper fortunes). The site is particularly popular during festivals, especially at New Year's and during ''

obon or just is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ance ...

'' in the summer, when additional booths fill the grounds selling traditional holiday foodstuffs and souvenirs. In 2007, Kiyomizu-dera was one of 21 finalists for the

New Seven Wonders of the World The New 7 Wonders of the World was a campaign started in 2001 to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. The popularity poll via free web-based voting and telephone voting was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber ...

, but was not picked as one of the seven winning sites. The temple was covered entirely by semi-transparent scaffolding while it underwent restoration works in preparation for the

2020 Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Architecture

Kiyomizu-dera is located in the foothills of Mount Otowa, part of the Higashiyama mountain range that dominates eastern Kyoto. The main hall has a large veranda, supported by tall pillars using , that juts out over the hillside and offers views of the city. Large verandas and main halls were constructed at many popular sites during the Edo period to accommodate large numbers of pilgrims. Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall, where three channels of water fall into a pond. Visitors can catch and drink the water, which is believed to have wish-granting powers. There is also the Tainai Meguri, a dark tunnel said to represent the womb of Daizuiku Bosatsu (the bodhisattva

Mahāpratisarā Mahāpratisarā (Ch: 大随求菩薩; pinyin: ''Dàsuíqiú''; Jp: ''Daizuigu'') is a female Buddhist deity in East Asian Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism. She is sometimes presented as the consort of Vairocana or as an emanation of Ratnasambhav ...

Gallery

File:Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, November 2016 -02.jpg, Kiyomizu-dera in autumn File:Kiyomizudera Snow.JPG, Kiyomizu-dera in winter File:Nio-mon, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto, West view 20190416 1.jpg, A ''

niōmon is the Japanese name of a Buddhist temple gate guarded by two wooden warriors called Niō (lit. Two Kings). The gate is called Heng Ha Er Jiang (哼哈二将) in China and Geumgangmun (금강문) in Korea. The two statues are inside the two po ...

'' (''

deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

'' gate) File:03-05-JPN074.jpg, Statuettes of Ksitigarbha (or Jizō) ''en masse'' File:Kiyomizu0800.jpg, ''Otowa-no-taki'', the waterfall where visitors drink for health, longevity, and success in studies File:Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, November 2016 -06.jpg, Kiyomizu-dera, Illuminated File:Kiyomizu-dera 2013-10-24 (11035923746).jpg, ''

Dougong ''Dougong'' (Chinese language, Chinese: 斗拱; pinyin: ''dǒugǒng''; lit. 'cap ndblock') is a structural element of interlocking wooden Bracket (architecture), brackets, important in traditional Chinese architecture for both its struct ...

'' architectural element, Kiyomizu-dera File:Smok w Kiyomizudera.JPG, Dragon sculpture at Kiyomizu-dera File:Kaisan-do Kyo-do Sanju-no-to.jpg, Right to left: Kaisan-do (Founder's Hall), Kyo-do (Sutra Hall) and Sanju-no-to (Three storied Pagoda) File:Kiyomizudera-Niomon-2017-Luka-Peternel.jpg, View of Kyoto and Niōmon from Kiyomizu-dera File:Kiyomizu dera 2024.jpg, Kiyomizu-dera View of Kyoto from Kyriomizu-dera

References

Sources

* *

External links

Kiyomizu-dera Temple at Official Kyoto Travel GuideKiyomizu-dera Temple home page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiyomizu-Dera 8th-century establishments in Japan Buddhist temples in Kyoto Hōnen Important Cultural Properties of Japan National Treasures of Japan 8th-century Buddhist temples World Heritage Sites in Japan 778 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 770s Temples of Avalokiteśvara