Early morning at the Nio-mon (Main Gate, left) and Sai-Mon (West Gate, center), Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist temple, Kyoto, Japan

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Kiyomizu-dera is an ancient Buddhist temple located on Otowa-san (Otowa mountain to the east of Kyoto. It was founded in the Heian period in 798 AD, but the present building date to 1633 AD. The current custodians belong to the kitahossa sect. Notably it was constructed from wood without using a single nail in the entire structure. A waterfall, Otowa-no-taki, is contained within the complex that is though to have wish granting properties. The water gives its name to the temple; kiyomizu means pure water. In this image the main gate house, Nio-mon (nio means deva statue) is seen to the left and in the center is the west gate house, Sai-mon.

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Size: 5000px × 3333px
Location: Nio-mon and Sai-mon, Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist Temple, Kyoto, Japan
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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