Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple
Tendai Buddhism worship and living sacred practice at Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple
Taito City, Tokyo, Japan
Plan this visit
Practical context before you go
Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
1-29 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0007. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.
At a glance
- Coordinates
- 35.7126, 139.7736
- Type
- Buddhist Temple
- Suggested duration
- Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
- Access
- 1-29 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0007. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
Pilgrim tips
- Wear modest clothing and remove footwear wherever signs or attendants request it. Do not cross altar barriers or enter monastic and residential rooms.
- Assume that principal images, inner halls, funerals, and private prayer are not for photography unless the temple explicitly permits it.
- Do not improvise ritual, promise spiritual results, interrupt prayer, or handle devotional objects without invitation.
Pilgrim glossary
- Kannon
- The bodhisattva of compassion, central to many East Asian pilgrimage routes.
- Tendai
- A Japanese Buddhist school based on the Lotus Sutra, foundational to many later traditions.
Overview
Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple (清水観音堂) is an active Tendai Buddhism sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference evidence, and a rights-cleared image of the site. Visit as a guest of a worshipping community: observe posted boundaries, keep rites and prayer unobstructed, and verify changing access information with the institution.
About Shimizu Kannon-do | Shimizu Kannon-do Official Homepage Shimizu Kannon-do – Shimizu Kannon-do Shimizu Kannon-do was built in 1631 by Jigen Daishi Tenkai Daisho (1536-1643), the founder of the Tendai sect Toeizan Kan'eiji Temple. In 1625, Daiso Tenkai opened Higashieizan Kan'eiji Temple on a mountain in Ueno donated by the second shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa, following the relationship between Heiankyo and Mt. Hiei. This meant that the idea that Mt. Hiei protected the Kyoto Imperial Palace's Demon Gate (Ten = Tohoku) was directly introduced into Edo, and it was intended to protect the Demon Gate of Edo Castle. He built a series of halls modeled after Mt. Pilgrim Map presents this site through documented identity and living religious practice, not through star ratings or promises of transformation. Architecture and historical associations can help orient a visit, but they do not replace the meaning made by worship, teaching, memorial practice, service, and care. Visitors should distinguish institutional tradition from independently documented history, especially where a foundation narrative, miraculous account, political memory, or popular origin claim is involved. Approach slowly, read the room before acting, and allow regular worshippers to set the pace.
Context and lineage
About Shimizu Kannon-do | Shimizu Kannon-do Official Homepage Shimizu Kannon-do – Shimizu Kannon-do Shimizu Kannon-do was built in 1631 by Jigen Daishi Tenkai Daisho (1536-1643), the founder of the Tendai sect Toeizan Kan'eiji Temple. In 1625, Daiso Tenkai opened Higashieizan Kan'eiji Temple on a mountain in Ueno donated by the second shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa, following the relationship between Heiankyo and Mt. Hiei. This meant that the idea that Mt. Hiei protected the Kyoto Imperial Palace's Demon Gate (Ten = Tohoku) was directly introduced into Edo, and it was intended to protect the Demon Gate of Edo Castle. He built a series of halls modeled after Mt.
Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple belongs to the living Tendai Buddhism context documented by its institutional and exact-entity sources.
Why this place is sacred
A map can show the threshold of Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple; it cannot determine what the place means for every devotee. Quiet attention is more responsible than assigning a single mood, energy, or spiritual effect. Notice how people prepare to enter, where they pause, and which spaces remain protected, while avoiding imitation or intrusion.
The cited sources identify Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple as an exact Tendai Buddhism institution and provide the bounded historical context summarized here.
The site's present form reflects continuity as well as rebuilding, institutional change, and the work of successive communities. Specific claims are limited to the cited record.
Traditions and practice
Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.
Current practice and participation at Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple follow the institution's own guidance. Do not infer permission from what another visitor does.
Notice the threshold, the order of movement, and the care given to sacred objects without turning observation into performance.
Tendai Buddhism
ActiveKiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple is an active Tendai Buddhism place in Tokyo. Its sacred meaning belongs first to the worshipping community, its documented history, and its continuing care—not to popularity metrics.
Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.
Experience and perspectives
Begin with the site's present threshold rather than a checklist. Put away conversation and devices when worship is underway, yield to people making offerings or attending services, and accept closures without pressing for access. A respectful visit may be brief. Its value does not depend on witnessing a ceremony, entering every building, or producing photographs.
Use the official site and posted notices to distinguish public grounds from worship, residential, administrative, memorial, or conservation spaces.
Read Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple through its living Tendai Buddhism community alongside documented history, architecture, and urban context.
Institutional and exact-entity sources establish identity and bound the historical account. Unresolved or contested claims remain explicitly attributed.
According to its tradition, sacred meaning is encountered through worship, teaching, remembrance, and the relationships sustained by the community.
No paranormal, medical, therapeutic, or guaranteed transformative effect is claimed.
Visit planning
1-29 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0007. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
No lodging recommendation is made; use current, independent accessibility and accommodation information.
Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.
Wear modest clothing and remove footwear wherever signs or attendants request it. Do not cross altar barriers or enter monastic and residential rooms.
Assume that principal images, inner halls, funerals, and private prayer are not for photography unless the temple explicitly permits it.
Use only offering and donation channels authorized by Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple; never leave substitute objects or food without permission.
Respect barriers, private rooms, protected fabric, sacred interiors, and any temporary restriction announced by staff.
Plan your visit
Address
日本、〒110-0007 東京都台東区上野公園１丁目２９
Phone
Hours
Hours, fees, and access can change — verify on the official source before you travel. Practical details last checked Aug 2026.
Nearby sacred places
Sacred places within a half-day’s reach. Pilgrims often visit them together: walk one, stay for the other.
References
Sources consulted when researching this page. Independent verification by readers is welcome.
- 01清水観音堂について | 清水観音堂 公式ホームページ — 清水観音堂high-reliability
- 02Wikidata entity Q99541117 — Wikidata contributors
- 03Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple Google Maps place record — Google
- 04File:100 views edo 011.jpg — Wikimedia Commons contributors
Key questions
What pilgrims usually ask
- Why is Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple considered sacred?
- Visit Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple with verified historical context, living Tendai Buddhism significance, practical access notes, respectful etiquette, and cited s
- What should I wear at Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple?
- Wear modest clothing and remove footwear wherever signs or attendants request it. Do not cross altar barriers or enter monastic and residential rooms.
- Can I take photos at Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple?
- Assume that principal images, inner halls, funerals, and private prayer are not for photography unless the temple explicitly permits it.
- How long should I spend at Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple?
- Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
- How do you visit Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple?
- 1-29 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0007. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
- What offerings are appropriate at Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple?
- Use only offering and donation channels authorized by Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple; never leave substitute objects or food without permission.
- What etiquette should visitors follow at Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple?
- Enter quietly, bow at thresholds where local custom indicates, and make offerings only at the provided place. Clapping is not part of ordinary Buddhist temple worship. Incense, chanting, copying sutras, or circumambulation should be joined only when the temple invites visitors to do so.
- What is the history of Kiyomizu Kannon-dō Temple?
- About Shimizu Kannon-do | Shimizu Kannon-do Official Homepage Shimizu Kannon-do – Shimizu Kannon-do Shimizu Kannon-do was built in 1631 by Jigen Daishi Tenkai Daisho (1536-1643), the founder of the Tendai sect Toeizan Kan'eiji Temple. In 1625, Daiso Tenkai opened Higashieizan Kan'eiji Temple on a mountain in Ueno donated by the second shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa, following the relationship between Heiankyo and Mt. Hiei. This meant that the idea that Mt. Hiei protected the Kyoto Imperial Palace's Demon Gate (Ten = Tohoku) was directly introduced into Edo, and it was intended to protect the Demon Gate of Edo Castle. He built a series of halls modeled after Mt.