Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka

photo by Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0

Whoever falls here dies within three years, the saying goes: people used to climb it carrying a lucky gourd.

The two stone slopes lead from Kiyomizu-dera towards Kodai-ji, and since 4 September 1976 they have been a district protected by the state: 8.2 hectares of wooden houses, with the shop on the ground floor and, above it, the lattice windows known as ‘insect cage’ windows. A superstition runs along Sannenzaka (whoever trips dies within three years), and for this reason people used to climb it with a gourd hanging from them as an amulet.

The two cobbled slopes that link Kiyomizu-dera to Kodai-ji, which began as pilgrimage routes. They are the heart of the Sannenzaka protected district, chosen on 4 September 1976 as one of the 重要伝統的建造物群保存地区 (districts of traditional buildings protected by law): 5.3 hectares then, 8.2 after the Ishibei-koji lane was added in 1996.

🚉 Kyoto Kawaramachi · 18 min walk

Sources: anime-tourism.jp · ani-tabi.com · online.bunka.go.jp · ja.wikipedia.org · ja.kyoto.travel

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