Ishiyama-dera

Ishiyama-dera (石山寺; "Stony Mountain Temple") is a temple of Shingon Buddhism in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is the thirteenth temple on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage and is on the shore of Lake Biwa.

Hondō (Main Hall)

Tahōtō (Pagoda)

History

The autumn moon at Ishiyama (石山の秋月), by Hiroshige

At night during Koyo

It was constructed around 747, and is said to have been founded by Rōben, a foundational figure of Japanese Huayan. The temple contains numerous cultural assets. The temple possesses two fragments of manuscripts of the Shiji, the first of China's twenty-four dynastic histories, which are the only known extant fragments that predate the Tang dynasty (618–907).

According to literature available at the temple complex, the guardian carvings at Sanmon/Todaimon are by Tankei and Unkei. Allegedly, Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji at Ishiyama-dera during a full moon night in August 1004. In commemoration, the temple maintains a Genji room featuring a life-size figure of Lady Murasaki and displays a statue in her honor.^[1]

The temple features as "The Autumn Moon at Ishiyama" (石山の秋月 Ishiyama no Shūgetsu) in the Eight Views of Ōmi thematic series in art and literature; examples include ukiyo-e prints by Suzuki Harunobu in the 18th century and Hiroshige in the 19th century.