Kyoto VI—Kiyomizu-dera

今年恰好是古京都遺址（古都京都の文化財），名列聯合國教科文組織世界遺產的二十週年紀念。讓我想起日本中小學生畢業旅行必來的清水寺。

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) are celebrating their 20^th anniversary as part of UNESCO World Heritage Site this year, which reminded me about Kiyomizu-dera, a temple that all primary and high school students of Japan are required to visit to deepen their knowledge about the country’s history and spirit.

Primary School students visiting Kiyomizu-dera

清水寺和其周邊，包括二条坂、三条坂、五条坂、茶碗坂等，大概是京都最熱鬧的區之一。這幾條多數由階梯組成的坂，是步行前往清水寺，會經過的古街。街道兩旁茶座、點心舖、京都風情小物、陶瓷店、織錦緞店滿是，是尋找當地特色小物的好地方。熙來攘往的街道，偶爾一位藝妓娉娉嫋嫋經過，步行中的人群會像斷電般停了下來；滿街遊人佇足欣賞古風美人呢。

Located halfway up Otowa Mountain in the eastern part of Kyoto City, Kiyomizu-dera is one of the oldest temple in Kyoto. It was established in 778, even before Kyoto became the capital of Japan; Kyoto was the capital of Japan between the 8^th – mid 19^th century.

Kiyomizu-dera and its neighbourhood are one of the busiest districts of Kyoto. Along the streets that lead to the entrance of the temple are tea houses, snack shops, ceramic / pottery stores and many interesting boutique stores carry artistic works for everyday use. In addition, the 15 buildings and one tower of the temple are spreaded out among cherry and maple trees.  The temple thus is a great place to appreciate / enjoy seasonal scenery all year round.

因為『音羽之瀑（音羽山的瀑布）』而得名的清水寺，每次來，不管何時來，總是遊人眾多。掩映在大片的櫻樹和楓樹林間，十五座寺院和塔樓和春櫻，夏瀑布，秋紅葉，冬細雪，互相輝映，是古都四季風物詩景。年復一年，遞嬗不斷。美景自然引得人潮也不斷。此外，這兒因為位處音羽山，相對地勢高，寺的周邊，還有以卡楯建造，高十二米的清水舞台，是眺望市容的好景點，也是寺內最熱門景點之一。

                      

The tower of the temple

清水寺據說是京都最古老的寺院。建於西元 778 年的平安時期，那時的京都被稱作平安京，是日本政治和文化的中心。主神是十一面千手千眼觀音，香火鼎盛。清水寺不僅曾出現於《源氏物語》、《枕草子》等日本文學作品中，關於它的奇妙傳說更是不少。

Kiyomizu means “clear water (waterfall)”and was named after the Otowa waterfall. The temple is one of the oldest temples in Kyoto.  Because the temple has burned down many times after its foundation, most of the current buildings were rebuilt by the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu in the early Edo period (1631 to 1633). The Main Hall and the Kiyomizu stage are the two most popular places of the temple.  The 12-meter high Kiyomizu Stage was built using a special method; it was assembled without using a single nail and the floor was installed using more than 410 cypress boards. The stage is a great place to view of the city center of Kyoto.

Kiyomizu Stage at night , via 月うさぎ

原名『北觀音寺』的清水寺，據說是因為僧人延鎮上人，先在夢中見到北方山中有金色泉水。他認為那夢是神佛的指引，便開始尋找那泉水。一天他來到音羽山，見到山中的瀑布後，認為就是夢中所見的金色泉水，便在此結庵修行。之後，白衣大士現身對他說：『我一直等你到來，希望你能在這興建寺廟。』延鎮遵照神明的指示，在原地創建寺院。又把原在音羽山修行數百年的行叡居士（據說是白衣大士的化身）留下的靈木雕刻成觀音菩薩像後，安置在寺內。

之後，延鎮巧遇為妻上山獵鹿的『徵夷大將軍』上田村麻呂。當時人認為鹿血有助產婦順產之效。延鎮說服上田村將軍，捨棄殺生行為，改向菩薩祈願。上田村將軍被說服，安葬了鹿，和妻子在家供奉觀音菩薩，以求順產。日後，屢建戰功的上田村將軍獲賜長崗京的宮殿為府邸，因感念菩薩庇佑恩德，將府邸奉獻給延鎮上人，成為清水寺『本堂』的前身。西元810年，經由嵯峨天皇認證後，清水寺正式成為公共寺院，開始拓展規模。可惜清水寺的建築物曾經歷多次火災，今日所見的正殿等建築物群，是1633年由徳川家光將軍出資重建的。

千年名山古寺，百年古建物，皆是平安京時期（西元8-19世紀中期）文化生活史的呈現，不愧是指定給學子參觀的古蹟。絡繹不絕的參觀人群，究竟是因為他的名氣，歷史價值，自然風光，還是周邊好吃好玩的，不得而知。

社會愈益高度分工，人類生活愈益個體化所帶來的疏離感，讓人們更渴望擁有傾聽自己一切心願和煩惱的對象。也許傾聽世間之音的觀音菩薩，其實才是此處人潮不減的主因。

Kiyomizu-dera is a temple of the Goddess of Mercy (i.e., Guanyin), which is famous for the power of answering prayers.    Guanyin means observing the sounds of the world. Despite the beautiful scenery, fun boutique stores, historic value of the temple, perhaps many tourists come to Kiyomizu-dera for Goddess of Mercy, one that always listen to people’s worries and prayers.