Mizumadera Temple

Said to have been founded in 744 by the monk Gyoki under imperial decree from Emperor Shomu. At its peak it boasted a grand complex of seven halls and over 130 monks' quarters. Burned down in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1585 military campaign, today's main hall was rebuilt in 1811. The principal image is deeply revered as the 'ward-off-evil Kannon.' The traditional 'Thousand Mochi-Pounding' ceremony began to celebrate the Kannon's manifestation, with Gyoki leading sixteen child attendants pounding rice cakes with wooden pestles in time with songs and offering them to the principal image — a tradition continued to this day.