Kiyomizu Shrine
The Kiyomizu-dera
or "pure water" Shrine is located on the slopes of Mount
Higashiyama, looking out over Kyoto. Construction was begun by
a general of the Emperor Kammu, and the largest building, the
Hondo or main hall was completed under Iemitsu, third Shogun
of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Entrance to the Kiyoumizu Shrine is
gained through the Nioh-mon Gate (Red Gate). The photo
to the left shows
the Nioh-mon gate and also the three story pagoda
behind it. The pagoda houses a statue
of Koyasu Kannon and is often visited by pregnant women seeking a happy birth for their
child. Just up the path from
the pagoda is another set of stairs which passes by a shoro or bell
tower, shown in the photo to the right. Proceeding up the hill
toward the main 
hall, one passes a 
small wooden shrine, shown in the photo
at lower left, while the photo to the lower right shows the
view of Kyoto from this vantage point. Click here for a virtual tour of the
main sights of Kiyomizu-dera from Asian
Historical Architecture. (The tour will open in a
separate window)
Approaching
the main hall, there is a small shrine entrance on the
shrine's western side; the exit leads out the forest that
surrounds the shrine. (photo to the left) Just in front of the
main hall is the water purification fountain (photo to the
right). Water pours out of the dragon's mouth into the
fountain. Before entering the shrine, visitors wash their
hands and drink the water. The centerpiece of the Kiyomizu
Shrine is the Hondo or main
hall, shown in the photo at the bottom left. The wooden hall
burned down numerous times since the shrine's inception.
The current hall was built in 1629 on the orders of Iemitsu, third shogun of
the Tokugawa Shogunate (it was Iemitsu who also completed the
Nijo Castle). Two things in particular
distinguish the hall. The first is the butai or huge
veranda that wraps around the hall shown in the photo at
the bottom left. The Japanese
use the phrase "jumping off the butai of Kiyomizu" to indicate
taking a significant move forward, either in earnestness or
desperation. The other unique feature of the Hondo issues
from its construction. The
entire structure is assembled from wooden pegs, and uses no
metal nails. The photo to the
right
shows the shrine area in the Hondo. People petition or
pray to the inner shrine from the
porch of the hall.
There is more to see on the other side of the main
hall. To the left as you approach the main hall is the pathway
leading to the inner shrine. The approach is gained via a set of
stairs, framed by a Torii gate (photo to the left). Around the
far end of the hall is a small shrine filled with stone dolls.
At the Hondo's foot
there is a small spring which flows out in three streams.
Called Otowa no taki, the water is drinkable and,
according to local beliefs has curative properties. To drink
from the right waterfall makes people intelligent, to drink
from the middle waterfall makes people handsome, and to drink water from the
left ensures longevity. And, less you get greedy, there are
those who 
believe that to drink from all three
invites personal misfortune. The Otowa no taki is shown
in the photo to the lower left. As
one
exits the Kiyomizu Shrine, visitors to the shrine wind their way
through the many many small shops and restaurants that line this
street in the Edo district of Kyoto.
