Hase-dera Temple
Originally known as Hatsuse, Hasedera temple was a popular, if arduous, pilgrimage for Heian ladies, and a stop for other pilgrims on their way to the Grand Shrine at Ise. |
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Bell-shaped lanterns and an image of Binzuru
silhouetted in the morning light outside the hondo. |
It has since become the eighth temple on the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage. Performances of traditional dancing are given in the hondo on special occasions. |
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View from the veranda of Hasedera Temple.
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The temple is set on a mountainside, surrounded by forest. In The Jeweled Chaplet chapter of The Tale of Genji, Hatsuse is where Genji's servant discovers Yugao's daughter on a pilgrimage. |
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View of Hasedera Temple's hondo from
lower on the hill. |
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A monk stands below Hasedera Temple's main hall. |
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Autumn concert in Hasedera Temple's main hall. |
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Monks on Hasedera Temple's veranda. |
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Main gate at Hasedera Temple. |
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A monk walks towards Hasedera Temple's honbo. |
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Pagoda on the hillside. |
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Forked tree mentioned in the Tale of Genji. |
Hase-dera dates from 686 and contains one the most stunning images of Kannon in the whole of Japan. Carved in 1538, the eight-metre high eleven-faced Juichimen Kannon gazes out through the temple's main hall across the valley beyond. |
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Hasedera Temple's impressive 8-metre statue of
Kannon. |
The temple features a large veranda, rising high above the trees below. |
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View across the valley from
Hasedera Temple's main hall. |
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Endless steps lead up to the hondo. |
