#futendo

Located thirty minutes from Toyota City in the Okuramachi mountains in Aichi Prefecture, the temple complex Iwatoyama Kanzeonji (岩戸山観世音寺) is a historic religious site with a main temple, built in 1178, and a few smaller temples. There's also a cave, called Fūtendō (風天洞), named for the Japanese god of wind, and surrounding grounds, which serve as a kind of outdoor gallery for hundreds and hundreds of religious carvings and sculptures.

I visited Iwatoyama Kanzeonji for the first time with a friend and her little boy. After parking at the foot of a small mountain, we were welcomed by figures of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, that lined the path from the entrance. Even though no other visitors were around, we felt the stillness broken by so many statues, which seemed to stare at us as we climbed the hill.

Built more than eight hundred years ago, the Iwatoyama Kanzeonji, like many Japanese temples, has an interesting history. It was closed for many years, but re-opened in 1978 with more statues than you can count—every one of which seemed to be along our path.