Seiganto-ji
Seiganto-ji (青岸渡寺), Temple of Crossing the Blue Shore, is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In 2004, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other locations, under the name "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". According to a legend, it was founded by the priest Ragyō Shōnin, a monk from India. The temple was purposely built near Nachi Falls, where it may have previously been a site of nature worship. Seiganto-ji is part of the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, and as such can be considered one of the few jingū-ji (shrine temples, see article Shinbutsu shūgō) still in existence after the forcible separation of Shinto and Buddhism operated by the Japanese government during the Meiji restoration.
| Seiganto-ji 青岸渡寺 | |
|---|---|
Three-story pagoda with Nachi Falls in the background | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Tendai |
| Deity | Nyoirin Kannon (Chintamanicakra) |
| Location | |
| Location | 8 Nachisan, Nachikatsuura-chō, Higashimuro-gun, Wakayama Prefecture Phone: 0735-55-0001 |
| Country | Japan |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Ragyō Shōnin |
| Completed | 4th century (presumed legendary) |
It is Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage's No.1 (first stop) and an Important Cultural Properties of Japan.