Pilgrimage to Kiyomizu Shrine

…As this belief in Kannon for worldly benefits grew in the mid-Heian period, this temple flourished as a place of faith rather than a place of learning or training, and was praised as the unrivaled Kannon sacred site in Japan. Since the Heian period, various "Kiyomizu-dera legends" have been created, and stories of miracles have been publicized to the world. The temple grounds were filled with pilgrims and visitors of all ranks, and the term "Kiyomizu-dera pilgrimage" was even coined. Sei Shonagon described the temple as "noisy" when it was crowded with people who stayed in the temple on the Kannon festival day on the 18th of each month, and the "Yugao" chapter of the Tale of Genji contains the lines, "The first night of the temples was also very solemn, and from Kiyomizu, many lights could be seen, and the people's movements were also loud." Faith in this temple appears in the material of Heian literature. …

*Some of the terminology used in reference to "Shimizu Mairi" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…この現世利益の観音信仰が，平安中期から高まると，当寺は学問や修行の寺としてよりは，信仰で栄える寺となり，日本無双の観音霊場とうたわれた。平安時代以来，種々の〈清水寺縁起〉がつくられて，霊験譚が世に喧伝され，貴賤の参詣者や参籠者が境内にあふれ，〈清水詣（もうで）〉なる言葉も生まれた。清少納言は毎月18日の観音の縁日に参籠する人で当寺がにぎわうのを〈さわがしきもの〉と伝え，《源氏物語》夕顔の巻には〈寺々の初夜も，皆，行ひはてゝ，いとしめやかなり，清水の方ぞ，光多く見え，人のけはひもしげかりける〉とあるなど，平安文学の素材に当寺の信仰が登場する。…

※「清水詣」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報