Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu-dera
[清水寺] Kiyomizu-dera
A temple of the Dharma Characteristics (Hosso) school located in Higashiyama Ward in Kyoto, Japan.According to that temple's tradition, a priest named Enchin (different from the Enchin who was the fifth chief priest of Enryaku-ji) came to the Higashiyama section of Kyoto to practice Buddhism in 778.Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (who later was commissioned to pacify the northeast of Japan's mainland and given the imperial title Seii-taishogun or "great general who subdues the barbarians" for doing so, which became the origin of the title shogun ) happened to pass by while seeking water on a hunting trip, met Enchin, and became his follower.They worked together to arrange the making of a golden image of the eleven-faced, forty-armed Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds.When it was completed in 798, a temporary hall was built to enshrine it.This structure was called Kiyomizu-dera.In 810 it was made into a national temple and designated by the imperial court as an official place of prayer for the protection of the nation.It became affiliated with Kofuku-ji temple of the Dharma Characteristics school and was consequently burned on several occasions by the priests of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, who were hostile toward Kofuku-ji.The present main hall of Kiyomizu-dera was rebuilt in 1633.
