The is a series of 33 Buddhist temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

s in Eastern Japan sacred to Goddess Kannon. Bandō is the old name for what is now the Kantō region

Kanto region

The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....

, used in this case because the temples are all in the Prefectures of Kanagawa

Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

, Saitama

Saitama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

, Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Gunma, Ibaraki

Ibaraki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...

, Tochigi

Tochigi Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...

 and Chiba

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

. As is the case with all such circuits, each location has a rank, and pilgrims believe that visiting them all in order is an act of great religious merit.

Started by Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo

was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

 and his son Sanetomo

Minamoto no Sanetomo

Minamoto no Sanetomo was the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate Sanetomo was the second son of the founder of the Kamakura shogunate Minamoto no Yoritomo, his mother was Hōjō Masako, and his older brother was the second Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoriie.His childhood name was...

, the Bandō Sanjūsankasho is just one of 70 different Kannon pilgrimage circuits existing in Japan, each including 33 temples because the Goddess is believed to have 33 different manifestations. Sugimoto-dera

Sugimoto-dera

is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the oldest temple in Kamakura and, together with Hōkai-ji, the only one of the Tendai denomination. The temple is Number one of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit. Two of the three statues of goddess Kannon it enshrines...

 in Kamakura is number one, Zushi's Gandenji's is number two, An'yō-in in Kamakura is the number three, the famous Hasedera in Hase number four, and so on. From its beginning at Sugimotodera to its end in Chiba's Nagodera, the circuit is over 1300 km long. Even though women were allowed to pray at individual temples, the circuit was originally reserved to male pilgrims. Now however most of the pilgrims are women. Pilgrims leave behind a slip of paper or a sticker as a proof of their visit, and many of these can be seen plastered on temple walls and pillars.

The 33 temples of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho circuit

Number 1 - Sugimoto-dera

Sugimoto-dera

is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the oldest temple in Kamakura and, together with Hōkai-ji, the only one of the Tendai denomination. The temple is Number one of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit. Two of the three statues of goddess Kannon it enshrines...

, Kanagawa

Number 2 - Ganden-ji, Kanagawa

Number 3 - An'yō-in, Kanagawa

Number 4 - Hase-dera

Hase-dera

thumb|240px|The Main Hall is the main temple of the Buzan sect of Shingon Buddhism. The temple is located in Sakurai, Nara, Japan.-Overview:According to the description on , the temple was first built in 686 and dedicated to Emperor Temmu, who was suffering from a disease...

 (Kamakura, Kanagawa

Kamakura, Kanagawa

is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...

)

Number 5 - Shōfuku-ji, Kanagawa

Number 6 - Hasedera, Atsugi, Kanagawa

Number 7 - Kōmyō-ji, Kanagawa

Number 8 - Shōkoku-ji, Kanagawa

Number 9 - Jikō-ji, Saitama

Number 10 - Shōbō-ji, Saitama

Number 11 - Anraku-ji, Saitama

Number 12 - Jion-ji, Saitama

Number 13 - Sensō-ji, Tokyo

Number 14 - Gumyō-ji, Kanagawa

Number 15 - Chōkoku-ji, Gunma

Number 16 - Mizusawadera, Gunma

Number 17 - Manganji, Tochigi

Number 18 - Chūzen-ji, Tochigi

Number 19 - Ōya-ji, Tochigi

Number 20 - Saimyo-ji, Tochigi

Number 21 - Nichirin-ji, Ibaraki

Number 22 - Satakedera, Ibaraki

Number 23 - Kanzeon-ji, Ibaraki

Number 24 - Rakuhō-ji, Ibaraki

Number 25 - Ōmi-dō, Ibaraki

Number 26 - Kiyotaki-ji, Ibaraki

Number 27 - Enpuku-ji, Chiba

Number 28 - Ryushō-in, Chiba

Number 29 - Chibadera, Chiba

Number 30 - Kōzō-ji, Chiba

Number 31 - Kasamori-ji

Kasamori-ji

' is a Buddhist temple located in the town of Chōnan in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The temple is also called "Kasamori-dera" using the alternate pronunciation of the Chinese character for temple . Kasamori-ji is temple number 31 in the Bandō Sanjūsankasho, or the circuit of 33 Buddhist temples in...

, Chiba

Number 32 - Kiyomizu-dera

Kiyomizu-dera (Isumi, Chiba)

' is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Isumi in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. According to an alternate reading of the name in Japanese, the temple is also referred to as Seisui-ji, and is commonly known as the Kiyomizu Kannon...

, Chiba

Number 33 - Nago-dera

Nago-dera

' is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Tateyama in southern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The temple is also called "Nago-ji" using the alternate pronunciation of the final Chinese character in its name, or the "Nago Kannon", after its primary object of worship.-History:According to temple...

, Chiba

See also

• For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
  Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
  This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries...
  
  .

External links

• The Circuit's site