This article is based on a visit made on Friday, 18 November 2016.
Previously on Sekai Ichi, I made my way into Kyoto on a day-trip. The first place I headed to was the Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺, lit. 'pure water temple') temple. In fact, my grandmother and I had visited Kiyomizu-dera on our own on our first trip to Japan. But since I didn't remember it all that well, and because the autumn colours on the premises were supposed to be beautiful, I gave it a second shot.
The approach to Kiyomizu-dera starts from the base of this uphill street. On the way up, the old-style building shift in purpose from ordinary houses to cafes and souvenir stores, some of them more upscale than at, say,
Senso-ji.
The front of the temple compound is marked by this massive gate. Specifically, this is called a
nio-mon (仁王門,
Niō-mon, lit. 'two-king gate'), a common fixture of Buddhist temples. Their name comes from a pair of guardian statues flanking the inside of the gate. They are not clearly visible in this picture, but stand behind the green grates on either side.
The brilliant vermilion colour scheme of the nio-mon gate is echoed by other structures nearby, including this pagoda. It is called a sanju-no-to (三重塔,
sanju no tō, lit. 'three-storeyed tower').
The morning sun was kind of in my face in those other shots, but looking back in the other direction, the combination of the clear blue sky and the vivid paint on the pagoda and other buildings was absolutely sublime.
The main hall stands atop a scaffold platform 13 metres (40 feet) tall. This view ranks among the most iconic sights in all of Japan. It is so iconic, in fact, that it has given birth to an expression. When a Japanese person wants to describe the act of jumping into something head-first, or "taking the plunge", they might call it "jumping off the stage at Kiyomizu". Indeed, there has been a legend that jumping off the platform and surviving will grant a wish. But it's still four storeys up, and this practise is technically banned, so don't get any ideas.
I lucked out by timing my holiday when I did. As I discovered after returning, the main hall of Kiyomizu-dera was to be covered in scaffolding, as part of renovations on its roof, starting from February 2017. The cover was fully constructed by June, and should be removed sometime around March 2020. Visitors are still able to walk through the main hall as normal. In turn, some of the additional halls on the hillside, which were covered up when I visited, have since been renovated and unveiled again as of this article. As such, I made sure to enjoy this view while I could, even if I couldn't quite get the balance of light and shadow just right.
The view from the main hall has its charms, too. That pagoda in the distance looked quite mysterious, seemingly secluded among all the trees. As it turns out, this pagoda isn't that far; actually, it's part of the Kiyomizu-dera complex. Called the Koyasu Pagoda (子安塔,
Koyasu no tō, lit. 'peaceful child tower'), it is a mini-temple where pregnant women pray for safe childbirth. The sunbeams filtering over the hills gave this scene a mystical atmosphere... looking back at this picture, anyway. It was hard to get lost in the moment in the real scene, when there were so many people passing by. Despite the throngs of people, everything still moved along at a fair clip.
From the main hall, I also got a look down upon the Otowa Waterfall (音羽の滝,
Otowa no taki, lit. 'feather-noise waterfall'), named after the mountain from where its water originates. The water here pours out in three streams. You go up behind them, fill up a ladle from one of the streams, and drink from it. Each of the streams is said to grant wishes in a certain field: one for long life, one for love life, and one for successful studies. However, drinking from two or all three is supposed to lessen the benefits you would earn, so don't be greedy!
I wound my way down the hill and got in line to receive the blessings of Otowa. I had forgotten which stream was which, so I randomly chose the one on the right. I hope it was a good one...
Speaking of blessings for your love life, Jishu Shrine, also on the premises, specialises in that. It is dedicated to
Okuninushi (大国主,
Ōkuninushi), the Shinto god of farming, business, medicine, and matchmaking. Okuninushi is also the resident god of Izumo Shrine in western Japan, one of the most sacred shrines in all of Shinto.
A popular feature of this shrine is this pair of rocks. Spread 18m (59 ft) apart, if you can walk between them with your eyes closed, you are believed to receive a blessing in finding the love of your life. And guess what, I did it! Oh, and if you have someone help you make it across, you're going to need someone to help you in finding a match.
As described above, the renovation of the main hall may put a damper on the experience, but the temple complex will remain open to visitors throughout the procedure. Besides, there is so much more to be seen here! But when it's time to move on, the adjacent neighbourhood of Higashiyama is a natural choice for a walk-through. Indeed that's what I did, and you'll see it too, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Hours: Open 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Closes at 6:30 PM on weekends and holidays from April to July. No regular closing days.
Costs: ¥400. The paid area starts at the entrance to the main hall.
Address: 294-1 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 〒605-0862
Access: From Kyoto Station, take bus #86 (stand D2), #100 (D1), #110 (D1), or #206 (D2), and get off at either the Gojo-zaka or Kiyomizu-michi stops (15 minutes, ¥230). From either stop, climb uphill for about 10 minutes to reach the temple's front entrance.
Kiyomizu-dera can also be reached on foot in 20 minutes from Kiyomizu-Gojo Station, on the Keihan Main line
(KH).
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
