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Seiganto-ji | |
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青岸渡寺 | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Tendai |
Deity | Nyoirin Kannon (Chintamanicakra) |
Location | |
Location | 8 Nachisan, Nachikatsuura-chō, Higashimuro-gun, Wakayama Prefecture |
Country | Japan |
Geographic coordinates | 33°40′10″N 135°53′23″E / 33.6694°N 135.8898°E |
Architecture | |
Founder | Ragyō Shōnin |
Completed | 4th century (presumed legendary) |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | ii, iii, iv, vi |
Designated | 2004 (28th session) |
Reference no. | 1142bis |
Part of | Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range |
Seiganto-ji (青岸渡寺), Temple of Crossing the Blue Shore, is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 as part of Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. According to a legend, it was founded by Ragyō Shōnin, a monk from India. The temple was purposely built near Nachi Falls, where it may have previously been a site of nature worship. Seiganto-ji, part of the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, is one of the few remaining jingū-ji or shrine temples following the forcible separation of Shinto and Buddhism during the Meiji restoration.[1]
It is the first stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage and is also classified as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government.[citation needed]