Mitaki-dera

photo by Binabik155 · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by 菅野崇 · CC BY-SA 3.0

The vermilion pagoda came from Wakayama in 1951, for the victims of the atomic bomb.

The name, ‘temple of the three waterfalls’, comes from the three falls you come across as you climb through the woods of Mount Mitaki, between a two-storey pagoda and a seated wooden statue of Amida Nyorai, both Important Cultural Properties.

A temple of the Shingon Kōyasan school, founded according to tradition in 809 by the monk Kūkai; it is a stop on the pilgrimage of the 33 Kannon of Chūgoku. In 1951 the pagoda of the Hiro-Yawata shrine in Wakayama was moved here, stone by stone, to commemorate the victims of the atomic bomb: today it is a prefectural Important Cultural Property. The statue of Amida Nyorai, from the Heian period, bears an inscription dated 1154 and originally came from Osaka; it is a national Important Cultural Property. Protected by the shape of the valley, about 3.18 km from the hypocentre, the temple became a first-aid post immediately after the bomb, and some of its buildings are registered as structures hit by the atomic bomb.

ℹ️ Open 8:00–17:30 (until 17:00 in December–January), suggested offering 200 yen. 20 minutes' walk from Mitaki Station on the JR Kabe Line, or by direct bus (Mitaki-Kannon bus stop).

🚉 Mitaki · 16 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · oniwa.garden · kannon.org

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