Kyoto

Kyoto’s Higashiyama mountain range, stands the temple, to which large numbers of visitors come to pay their respects to Kannon, a deity of great mercy and compassion. For this reason, our temple is known as a “Kannon Reijo.” “Reijo” is a Japanese word meaning a “holy place” with which the Kannon’s compassion is abundant.

Sanjūsangen-dō is for me one of the most awesome of all the temples in Kyoto, with its one thousand life-size statues of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy (actually a bodhisattva — a being who puts off entry into nirvana in order to save all souls still suffering in the world.)  These stand on both sides of the main statue in 10 rows and 50 columns. They are definitely as amazing to watch as the Chinese Terracotta army in Xian.

The shrine gained imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami decreed that messengers carry written accounts of important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines, including the Inari Shrine.

Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, lit. 'Temple of the Golden Pavilion'), officially named Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺, lit. 'Deer Garden Temple'), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan.

Iwatayama Monkey Park (Japanese: 嵐山モンキーパーク, Arashiyama Monkī Pāku) is a commercial park located in Arashiyama in Kyoto, Japan.