Daifuku-ji Temple (Gake Kannon)

In the south of the Boso Peninsula, Mount Funagata rises behind the village of Funagata on Tateyama Bay. On the steep rock face halfway up the mountain, a vermilion Kannon hall seems to cling to the cliff. This is Daifuku-ji, affectionately known to locals as Gake no Kannon, the "Cliff Kannon." It is a temple of the Chizan school of the Shingon sect, with the mountain name Funagata-san and the sub-temple name Fumon-in, and it is also Temple No. 3 on the Awa Province 34 Kannon Pilgrimage.

According to temple tradition, it began in 717, when the monk Gyoki carved a statue of Kannon to pray for the safety at sea and good catches of local fishermen. The Tendai monk Ennin (Jikaku Daishi) later built the Kannon hall and is said to have revived the temple, and in the Edo period the shogunate granted it a red-seal charter. In February 1653 the hall is said to have been lost to fire, taking with it the red-seal charter and all the temple treasures. After that, heavy rain and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 brought the buildings down more than once, and each time they were rebuilt. The present hall dates from 1925, and from 2015 it underwent a major renovation including seismic reinforcement, a new roof and fresh vermilion paint, reopening to worshippers in July 2016.

The main highlight is the hall itself, built in the kakezukuri style (on stilts) halfway up the sheer cliff. On the rock wall inside is carved a cliff-face statue of the Eleven-Faced Kannon. It stands about 1.5 m tall and is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Tateyama City. A Kannon carved directly into the rock, receiving the prayers of people who lived by the sea, is a sight that is hard to find elsewhere.

Climb up to the hall and Tateyama Bay spreads out below you. On a clear day, it is said you can see as far as Izu Oshima in the distance. The green of the trees and the vermilion hall set against the rock face come together in a scene that photographs well and catches the eye of everyone climbing the steps.

When you visit, keep in mind that strong wind or heavy rain can make the hall inaccessible. The surest way to find out whether it is open is to ask the temple. There is parking that can take large buses, and the temple is about a 15-minute walk from Nako-Funagata Station on the JR Uchibo Line.

Nako-dera Temple is about 1.6 km away, and Cape Susaki Lighthouse and Awa Shrine are also scattered along the Tateyama coast. It is a location from which you can follow temples, shrines and headlands along Tateyama Bay and take in the seaside faith and scenery of southern Boso.