Kiyomizu-dera Temple is one of Kyoto’s must-see attractions. If you're planning to travel to Kyoto and want to visit this temple hoping to take some nice pictures, you'd better think twice. Kiyomizudera's is currently undergoing renovations on the main hall and stage area. Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2021. It won't be possible to take pictures like the postcard Noriko sent me in 2008. However visitors will be able to enter the main hall during the renovations.
JP-1129607, sent by Chizuko.
Kiyomizudera (清水寺, literally "Pure Water Temple") is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. It was founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in the wooded hills east of Kyoto, and derives its name from the fall's pure waters. The temple was originally associated with the Hosso sect, one of the oldest schools within Japanese Buddhism, but formed its own Kita Hosso sect in 1965. In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.
Kiyomizudera is best known for its wooden stage that juts out from its main hall, 13 meters above the hillside below. The stage affords visitors a nice view of the numerous cherry and maple trees below that erupt in a sea of color in spring and fall, as well as of the city of Kyoto in the distance. The main hall, which together with the stage was built without the use of nails, houses the temple's primary object of worship, a small statue of the eleven faced, thousand armed Kannon.
JP-1463986, sent by Mina. The three story pagoda at Kiyomizu-dera is one of the tallest of its
kind in Japan, standing at 31 meters high. The current structure dates
from a reconstruction carried out in 1633, when its original red
coloring was also restored. Though you can see traditional onigawara tiles
with demonic faces on them when looking at the roof, on the
southeastern corner you can see a dragon regarded as a god of water that
protects the structure against fire.