Escape to Enchanting Wakanoura

[yuiyoshida]

Celebrated by emperors and poets since ancient times for its scenic beauty, Wakanoura, in Wakayama City, is an excellent choice for escaping to a lesser-known part of Kansai...

In 724, Emperor Shomu made a trip to Wakanoura and was delighted. Back then, he would have seen six small islands sitting in the bay known collectively by the old name Tamatsushima, which conjures up the image of a string of jewels floating on the surface of the water. Though the landscape has changed since olden times, you can still experience its history and charms and, with a little imagination, catch a glimpse of its past splendor.

Kimiidera Temple, sitting on the slopes of Mount Nagusa, is a good place to start. Number two on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, it was founded over 1,200 years ago by the monk, Iko, who made the arduous journey from China. The temple is famous for its early-blooming cherry blossoms and for its sparkling new image of Kannon, the Buddha of mercy, which at nearly 12 meters tall, is the largest standing wooden Kannon statue in Japan. If you wish to see the temple’s principal Kannon image, a wooden statue said to date back to the founder, you will have to wait until 2020 as it is a hibitsu – a hidden Buddha – displayed only once every 50 years.

The temple also affords a sweeping view of Wakanoura Bay. If you look carefully, by the town’s edge near where it meets the water, you will be able to see a small pagoda on a tiny island. This is Imose Yama, the only remaining island of the original six. The wooded hills stretching beyond it were once the other islands of the group.

Imose Yama looks much like it did when the famed artist Hiroshige made a woodblock print of it more than 150 years ago. The approach to the island is still made by the Sandankyo, a low, stone bridge modeled after a famous bridge at China’s West Lake, which was commissioned by Tokugawa Yorinobu (1602–1671), the 10th son of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and founder of one of the three cadet branches of the Tokugawa family, who ruled the Kishu Domain from nearby Wakayama Castle.

Yorinobu’s legacy can be strongly felt on the island. On the far side is the Kankaikaku, a pavilion used for viewing Mount Nagusa and Kimiidera. The current structure is a concrete copy of the original wooden one attributed to Yorinobu. Behind it stands the weathered Kaizenin Pagoda, which Yorinobu erected in memory of his mother.

more...https://www.kansaiscene.com/2016/05/escape-enchanting-wakanoura/