Kannonsho-ji Temple

7th-century Tendai temple, 32nd stop on the Saigoku Pilgrimage, 370m above Lake Biwa.

Kannonshō-ji is a Tendai Buddhist temple founded in 605 CE on the wooded slopes of Mount Kinugasayama at 370 metres, overlooking Lake Biwa. As the 32nd stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, it has drawn pilgrims for over a millennium. Its honzon is a statue of Senjū Kannon rebuilt after a 19th-century fire. The elevated views over Japan's largest lake make it one of the pilgrimage's most atmospheric stations.