Kimiidera

Kimiidera (紀三井寺) is a medium-sized temple in Wakayama City, where it overlooks the Wakaura Bay from its vantage point atop Mount Nakusa. The head temple of the Guze Kannon sect of Japanese Buddhism, it is the second of 33 temples included on the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage route, and is well known locally for the 500 or so cherry blossom trees within its grounds, which tend to be among the first to bloom in the Kansai Region.

Founded in 770 by the Chinese monk Tamemitsu, the temple thrived from the end of the Heian Period (794-1185) when it came under the patronage of the imperial family, and was said to house as many as 500 monks during its peak in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).

Like Negoroji, the temple came under attack in 1585 by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi during his invasion of what is today Wakaura Prefecture, resulting in the loss not only of many buildings but also its historical records - for this reason, relatively little is known about its history up to that point.

Visitors can reach the temple from ground level by cable car, or by a steep flight of 231 stone steps called the yuenzaka or matchmaking slope. A sign at the bottom commemorates a record time of 21.9 seconds for the climb set by former Olympic sprinter and bobsledder Aoto Shinji.

The temple's main hall dates to 1775 and is built in a style more usually seen in Zen temples. The building houses two important statues of the deity Kannon in her eleven headed and 1000 armed aspects, as well as a secret image of the Buddha, however these are kept out of sight in a special treasure house at the rear.

The temple's modern Shinbutsuden Hall houses a 12 meter tall wooden statue of 1000 armed Kannon coated in gold leaf, while its rooftop doubles as an observation deck.