Kiyomizu-dera stands in the foothills of Mount Otowa in eastern Kyoto. The article gives 778 as its founding date, though the account is legendary and has little documentation behind it. Gyōei is regarded as the founder, Enchin as the founding priest, and the general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro as the chief patron.
The main hall, or hondō, was rebuilt in 1633 after a fire in 1629, with a donation from the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. It uses kakezukuri construction, in which a broad veranda is carried on tall pillars and juts out over the hillside. The article states that no nails were used anywhere in the structure.
Below the hall, the Otowa waterfall falls in three channels into a pond. Visitors catch the water and drink it, and it is believed to grant wishes. UNESCO listed the temple in 1994 among the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.
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