清水寺全景

About this photo

This photograph looks over the grounds of Kiyomizudera from a little distance away. It appears in Kyoto Meisho (Famous Sights of Kyoto), published in 1907 (Meiji 40). The three-story pagoda and the main hall can be seen within an oval frame.

Kiyomizudera is said to have been founded in 778 by Enchin, and Sakanoue no Tamuramaro is said to have later built a hall there. The grounds were laid out on stone walls built into the slopes of Mount Otowa, and the buildings stand in a line along the hillside, from the Niomon gate to the West Gate, the three-story pagoda and the main hall. The pagoda was rebuilt in 1632 and stands about 31 meters tall. Around the time this book came out, a small three-story pagoda called the Koyasu Pagoda, where people prayed for safe childbirth, also stood on the south side below the Niomon gate. In 1911 the Koyasu Pagoda was moved to the far southern end of the grounds.

Repairs completed in 1987 brought back the pagoda's bright colors. In 1994 the temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto."

Glossary