Ishiyama-dera

Ishiyama-dera stands in Otsu, Shiga, on the west bank of the Seta River, which flows out of Lake Biwa, and is a head temple of the Toji Shingon school. Its name comes from the wollastonite rock (a national Natural Monument) that juts out all over the grounds, and the Main Hall and the Tahoto Pagoda are built on this rock. According to the Ishiyama-dera Engi picture scrolls, Roben of Todai-ji founded it in 747 at the wish of Emperor Shomu. The temple relates that Roben prayed here for the gold needed for the Great Buddha, gold was then found in Mutsu Province, and the hermitage he built became the temple.

In the Heian period it became a center of esoteric Shingon Buddhism, and the 'Ishiyama pilgrimage', staying overnight in prayer after traveling from the capital, became popular among aristocrats, especially women. A well-known legend says Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji while in retreat here, and the mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna (The Kagero Diary) and the daughter of Sugawara no Takasue (The Sarashina Diary) also described their retreats in their works. The principal image, a two-armed Nyoirin Kannon, is a secret Buddha sealed by imperial order, and its doors are opened once every 33 years.

The Main Hall, a National Treasure, was rebuilt in 1096 after a fire caused by lightning in 1078, and the temple calls it the oldest wooden building in Shiga Prefecture. It is a composite building: in front of the inner hall, seven bays wide and four bays deep, an intermediate room links it to a worship hall. According to the temple, the worship hall was added in 1602 with a donation from Yodo-dono; it is built on stilts out over the wollastonite bedrock. Look also for the roof of the intermediate room, which rises above the ridge of the worship hall to show a gable. At the east end of the intermediate room is the 'Genji Room', where Murasaki Shikibu is said to have stayed, with a figure of her on display.

The other National Treasure, the Tahoto Pagoda, is said to have been donated by Minamoto no Yoritomo, and an ink inscription in the lower story shows that it was built in 1194. According to the temple, it is the oldest of the tahoto pagodas whose construction dates are known. It has two stories, square below and round above, and is admired for the balance between its two stories and the curves of its eaves; the roof is covered with cypress bark. The principal image inside, a Dainichi Nyorai of the Diamond Realm, is a work by Kaikei and is designated an Important Cultural Property.

A visit begins at the East Gate (an Important Cultural Property) beside the Seta River. Follow the approach and climb the stone steps called Osaka, and the wollastonite rock rises in front of you, with the Main Hall and the Tahoto Pagoda above it. East of the pagoda is the Moon-Viewing Pavilion overlooking the Seta River, and 'Autumn Moon at Ishiyama' is one of the Eight Views of Omi. Known as a 'temple of flowers', it has plum blossoms from around February, early cherry blossoms from early March, and 200-year-old Kirishima azaleas lining the approach from late April into May, while in autumn the leaves color the rocks and halls.