Mizuma-dera

photo by ほっきー · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by HikaruKinkakuji · CC BY-SA 4.0

The white-haired old man put the statue in his hands and went off as a dragon.

The temple stands at the end of a narrow little valley, where the railway ends. There is a three-storey pagoda made entirely of cypress, and the river runs beside it: according to the founding story, the statue worshipped here came from that very river.

Founded in the Nara period by the monk Gyōki on the orders of Emperor Shōmu, who had been sent in a dream to look for a statue of Kannon. In the story, having reached Mizuma, Gyōki meets a white-haired old man who hands him the statue and then turns into a dragon and rises into the sky. It is the Mizuma Kannon, the one people ask to keep misfortune away.

ℹ️ Ten minutes on foot from Mizuma-Kannon Station, the terminus of the Mizuma Railway. Free car park. Check the official site for any entry charge.

🚉 Mizumakannon · 7 min walk

Sources: city.kaizuka.lg.jp

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