Virtual Ika 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Keisoku ji Temple

     Mt. Kodakami (the altitude of 923 meters) is in the unlucky direction for Omi Province, and used to be the center of mountain worship to guard the province.  The holy precincts were set up by Gyoki (668-749) and Taicho (682-767) in 726.  The holy mountain used to have 5 big temples: Hokke-ji, Shakudo-ji, Kannon-ji, Takao-dera, and Anraku-ji Temples.  Kannon-ji Temple used to have its branch temples: Keisoku-ji, Iifuku-ji, and Enkan-ji Temples.  Keisoku-ji Temple was located at the top of the mountain, and Iifuku-ji Temple halfway up the mountain.

     Keisoku-ji Temple was founded by Gyoki in 735, vitalized by Saicho (767-822) in 799, and revived by Jimo in 1269.  Keisoku-ji Temple burned down in 1933, with its name succeeded by Iifuku-ji Temple, which has accordingly 2 names today, and with its main deity, the statue of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces, preserved in the Koko-kaku Museum, which was built in 1963, at the foot of the mountain.