Honpukuji Mizumido – The Buddhist temple of the Omuro group, the Shingon Sect, with a Hasuike pond

Embraced by architecture, the main temple building, and nature

Honpukuji is located in northeast Awaji Island, on a hill overlooking Osaka Bay. As the 59th sacred place in Awaji Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage, the temple attracts many pilgrims who carry a bell.
The old temple was constructed in the Heian Period. The new main temple building called Mizumido was built in 1991, having been designed by Tadao Ando.
After passing the wooded approach, a concrete wall to separate the secular world and the sacred world appears.
When you go around the wall and go inside the walled area, you will find an oval pond. Lotus flowers float in the pond. They have white and red flowers in the blooming season to welcome visitors with a fantastic view. The lotus plants in the pond include Oga lotus that was grown from a seed discovered from the 2000 year old stratum.
The staircase at the center of the pond is of a unique design. In order to go to the main temple building where the Bhaisajyaguru (Yakushi Nyorai) is enshrined, you have to go down the staircase built as if to split the pond. The main temple building has a sublime aura when the light of the setting sun comes in. The sky occupies your entire field of view when you climb back up the stairs to leave the main temple building. The surreal sight makes you think of eternity.