Hasedera Temple

Located halfway up Mt. Hatsuse, Hase-dera Temple is famous for its peonies, and from late April to early May, more than 7,000 peony plants of over 150 varieties are in full bloom.

The temple has long been called “the temple of flowers” and has appeared in many classical literature such as “The Tale of Genji,” “The Pillow Book,” and “Sarashina Nikki (Sarashina Diary).

The “two cedars” are mentioned in an episode of “The Tale of Genji” in the “Tamakazura no Maki” (The Tale of Genji), and remain on the temple grounds to this day.

There are many temples in Japan that call themselves “Hase-dera,” and to distinguish them from others, they are sometimes called “Hase-dera in Yamato Province” or “Hase-dera, the head temple of Hase-dera.

The temple is the 8th temple of the 33 temples in the western part of Japan, and its crest is a ring-shaped pattern.

According to temple legend, the temple was founded in 686. On the western hill of Hatsuseyama, the monk Domei built a three-story pagoda, and on the eastern hill, the monk Tokumichi enshrined the principal image of the eleven-faced Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) at the order of Emperor Shomu, although these are not recorded in the official history.

Since the mid-Heian period, Hase-ji Temple has been worshipped by aristocrats as a sacred place for the Kannon, and since the Middle Ages, it has also been worshipped by warriors and common people.

The main hall of the temple is a huge structure with its front facade in the kakezukuri style, similar to the main hall of Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, together with the Ai-no-Ma and the Rei-Do.

The building, which enshrines the eleven-faced Kannon statue, was destroyed by fire seven times by the Muromachi period (1336-1573). The hall was rebuilt with the assistance of Hidenaga Toyotomi and completed in 1588, but there were leaks.

The hall was rebuilt with a donation from Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third barbarian general of the Edo Shogunate, and completed in 1650, and is designated as a national treasure.

The principal image is a standing wooden statue of the eleven-faced Kannon (Goddess of Mercy). The present statue was rebuilt in 1538, and despite being created during the decline of Buddhist sculpture in the Muromachi period (1333-1573), it is a huge statue measuring over 10 meters.

It is one of the largest wooden sculptures designated as an Important Cultural Property and also one of the largest among those designated as National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. It has a unique form with a tin cane like that held by Jizo Bosatsu.

The construction of the new main hall was done without moving the huge main image from its original location. Therefore, the main hall is a complex structure with an inner sanctuary (where the main image is enshrined) inside the inner sanctuary, and the inner sanctuary serves as a huge kitchen.