Matsuo Kannon-ji, Buddhist temple in Ise, Japan.
Matsuo Kannon-ji is a Buddhist temple in Ise, Japan, made up of two wooden halls that house Buddhist statues, including an eleven-faced Kanzeon Bosatsu and a Jizo Bosatsu. The grounds also include two ponds behind the main hall, set within a wooded area on the edge of the city.
The temple was founded in 712 by the priest Gyoki during the Nara period, and later came under the protection of the Kitabatake clan, who governed Ise. A fire in 1403 damaged the site, and the wooden structures seen today are the result of rebuilding done after that event.
The name of the temple comes from two ponds behind the main hall, where legend says dragons protected the Kannon statue during a fire. These ponds are still there today and give the place a calm, layered feeling that connects the living site to its stories.
The temple is most easily reached by bus, with a stop close to the entrance, and sits a little outside the center of Ise. Morning is a good time to visit, as the grounds tend to be quieter and both halls are easier to explore at a relaxed pace.
During roof work in 1954, hand-written copies of the Lotus Sutra were found hidden inside the roof finial of the main hall, where they had been sealed for close to 1,000 years. This practice of placing sacred texts inside building structures was a deliberate act of preservation by monks.
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