Nakayama-dera, Buddhist temple in Takarazuka, Japan.

Nakayama-dera is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Takarazuka, Japan. Its main hall, rebuilt in 1603, has a vermilion-red wooden facade with a curved roof topped by a golden ringed finial, and a large white rounded form below. A five-story pagoda, the Seiryu-tō, stands about 28 meters tall and is painted deep blue. A dark-wood hall with a two-tiered tiled roof has round white ornaments along its eaves and white paper lanterns at the entrance.

According to temple tradition, Prince Shotoku founded the temple to appease the spirits of Mononobe no Moriya and the princes Kagosaka and Oshikuma; its original site is today's Oku-no-in. In 1578 the complex was burned in the Battle of Arioka Castle. Relocated during the Keicho era, it was rebuilt in 1603 by Toyotomi Hideyori, with Katagiri Katsumoto as construction commissioner.

The temple's association with safe childbirth comes from a Heian-period story: the Kannon reformed Tada Yukitsuna's unbelieving wife using the rope of the temple's gong, after which the couple lived in harmony. The rope, called kane-no-o, was once torn off piece by piece by pilgrims seeking easy delivery, and is now deliberately kept short. On the monthly day of the dog, expectant mothers attend a prayer service and receive a belly band that has been blessed.

The temple is a two-minute walk from Hankyu Nakayama-kannon Station, or about 18 minutes from JR Nakayamadera Station. The grounds have elevators, escalators and handrails for pregnant visitors, older people and wheelchair users. The Oku-no-in sanctuary lies about 2 km northwest, roughly 50 minutes on foot; its stamp office is open from 10:00 to 15:30.

The Hoshiori Matsuri on the night of August 9 is based on the belief that the Kannon of the Saigoku Thirty-Three Temples gather by starlight in the main hall. A single visit that night is said to equal the merit of 46,000 days of worship. A sacred staff (gohei) is then placed in one of the subtemples.