Sen-nichi Mairi at Kiyomizu-dera

　The Sen-nichi Mairi takes place at Kiyomizu-dera from 9 to 16 August. During this period, a single day’s visit is said to yield the merit of a thousand days. As visitors can receive a Sen-nichi Mairi amulet and pay their respects in the inner sanctuary—where the Standing Statue of the Eleven-Faced, Thousand-Armed Kannon is enshrined, an area normally off-limits to the public—the temple becomes extremely crowded.

　Today, perhaps due to it being a public holiday and the Kamitoba Rokusai Nenbutsu taking place, the temple grounds were teeming with people. The Rokusai Nenbutsu is a folk art in which participants dance whilst chanting the Nembutsu to the accompaniment of gongs and drums; it is said to have been popularised by the 11th-century monk Kūya Shōnin, who spread the teaching of devoting oneself entirely to chanting the Nembutsu.

　From the 14th to the 16th, there are also evening viewings, and 120 paper lanterns are placed along Ichinenzaka and Ninenzaka, creating a magical scene as they illuminate the cobbled streets.