Suzumushi-dera (鈴虫寺)

Suzumushi-dera (鈴虫寺)

Suzumushi-dera is a small temple located right next to the famous Koke-dera (Moss temple 苔寺, also known as Saiho-ji). The temple was founded in 1723 under its formal name of Kegon-ji (華厳寺).

To reach the temple you first have to climb a long flight of stairs. At the foot of these stairs is a stone marker with the name of the temple. It uses a slightly different writing "鈴蟲寺", with the second kanji containing 3 times the "虫" of the normal temple name. Tip: Googling for "蟲" is NSFW for it has some other meaning...

Suzumushi-dera is also a bit special because like its neighbour, you can only visit its grounds after some Buddhist ritual, in this case you have listened to long preaching from the temple priest. No problem there, unless you happen to arrive right at the "best light" moment in the late afternoon and you can see this light fading with every word of the priest. Augh! Not too bad though: my agent picked three out of the 4 pictures of this temple that I sent him. 75% is a very good score for me...

Recommended for: Access:

Nearby: Saihō-ji / Koke-dera 西芳寺・苔寺 (140m), Kaguyahime Takegoten かぐや姫御殿 (150m), Jizō-in 地蔵院 (330m), Jōjū-ji 浄住寺 (540m), Matsunō-taisha 松尾大社 (720m)

External links: Website, ウィキペディア, Kyoto Navi, Trip Advisor, Kyoto Design, 京都風光, Marutake, そうだ京都, Satellite view, Map

Keywords: Japan, 日本, Japon, Kyoto, 京都, Nishikyo, 鈴虫寺, Suzumushi-dera, temple, 寺院, 仏閣

Statistics: visited on 2 occasions, id 336, 7 photos (3 extra photos can be found in the archive).

Photos of Suzumushi-dera:

Rooflines of temple in bamboo forest (Suzumushi-dera 鈴虫寺)
Lantern in Japanese garden (Suzumushi-dera 鈴虫寺)
Autumn foliage at temple entrance (Suzumushi-dera 鈴虫寺)
Garden entrance in autumn (Suzumushi-dera 鈴虫寺)
Fallen maple leaves on the stairs of Suzumushi-dera temple, Kyoto, Japan
Bright red autumn foliage in Suzumushi-dera temple, Kyoto, Japan