Dojoji Temple

Doji Temple in Hidakagawa is famous for the legend of Anchin and Kiyohime, in which a young woman's unrequited love for a monk ends with her transforming into a serpent and destroying the temple's bell. The story has been retold in noh, kabuki, and dance for centuries, and the illustrated scrolls depicting it are held here. The temple itself is quiet and compact, with a small garden and several important sculptures. A museum on the grounds displays artifacts related to the legend and the temple's history. The story is one of the more psychologically vivid in Japanese folk tradition, and having it told through artwork while standing on the actual ground where it supposedly occurred gives it a particular weight.