Mitaki-dera Temple

Mitaki-dera is a Koyasan Shingon temple halfway up Mt. Mitaki (Sokoyama) in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima. Its mountain name is Ryusen-zan, and its principal images are Sho Kannon and Sanki Daigongen. It is also known as Mitaki Kannon, and is Temple 13 of the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and Temple 15 of the Hiroshima Shin-Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage.

According to temple tradition, Kobo Daishi (Kukai) founded it in 809. Many ascetics are said to have trained under the waterfalls and meditated in rock caves. At the time of the 1945 atomic bombing the temple stood about 3.2 km from the hypocenter and was used as a temporary aid station. Several buildings, including the Soshin Kannon hall, the bell tower and the Inari shrine, are registered by Hiroshima City as atomic-bombed buildings.

The vermilion treasure pagoda at the entrance was moved in 1951 from Hirohachiman Shrine in Hirokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, to pray for the atomic bomb victims, and is a prefectural Important Cultural Property. The temple also holds a Heian-period wooden seated Amida Nyorai, a national Important Cultural Property, bearing an inscription from 1154. There are three waterfalls, Bonon, Komagataki and Yumei, and their water is used as an offering at the Peace Memorial Ceremony. The Fudaraku garden was laid out by Shigemori Mirei in the 1950s and early 1960s, and the green, moss-covered grounds have a calm that is hard to imagine from the city below. The main Kannon hall enshrines a hidden principal image that is not shown to the public.

The temple lies at the bottom of a valley cut into Mt. Mitaki and is known for cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves, when the vermilion pagoda stands out against the colored trees. The grounds spread across the mountainside, so wear comfortable shoes. Allow about an hour to look around. Admission opens at 8:00 and closes at 17:00 in December and January, so arrive early when the days are short. The temple is away from the city center, but Hiroshima Castle (about 2.8 km in a straight line), the Hiroshima Museum of Art (about 3.1 km) and Orizuru Tower (about 3.2 km) can be combined by tram or bus.