Nyoiji Temple

Nyoiji is an old Shingon temple said to have been founded by the monk Gyoki. Its principal image, an eleven-headed Kannon, is known for protecting eyesight, and the Higiri Fudo draws visitors praying for protection and for marriage ties alike. Locally it is the temple people visit at New Year. As the seventh site on the Kansai Flower Temple pilgrimage of twenty-five, it turns entirely pink with mitsuba azalea in April, and carries flowers through every season along with some 300 varieties of wild mountain plants. The Sennichi-e festival for the principal image falls on 9 August, with fireworks and floating lanterns out on the bay in front of the gate. The head priest's 'flower sermon' has a reputation for being genuinely entertaining, and visitors come from all over the country.