A little before arriving Tenno-ji, there is a place called Yasoba-no-Shimizu, where clean fresh water gushes. With this water, this place is famous for its tokoroten (a kind of jerry) from Edo-era. Unfortunately, it was too early in the morning and the restaurant was closed.

The pilgrimage route led me to a shrine called Shiramine shrine, which had a bronze statue of a horse with the Imperial chrysanthemum crest on it which shows to have something to do with the emperor’s family. This shrine is dedicated to Emperor Sutoku, who was exiled to this area after his defeat in the Hogen War.

For a while, I couldn’t figure out where No.79 Tenno-ji was. I found this very interesting red shrine gate with two small side gates. Once I got out of it, I found a stone monument on which “Tenno-ji” is written. Then, I found the information board and finally found the main temple and the Taishi-do in a small place comparing to the wide precincts of Shiramine shrine.

When I finished reciting sutra, a foreign pilgrim asked me where the Tenno-ji was. I told him it was here, but he went to the shrine side 🙂