11月24日、今日は夕方から三十三間堂へ行ってきました。三十三間堂では今年、初めて夜間特別拝観が行われたんですね。期間は11月22日～24日の3日間で、17時から19時まで。灯明に照らされた千体の千手観音を外から拝観できるというものです。本堂の中には入れませんが、東庭側の障子がすべて開け放たれているため、外から千手観音像がずらりと並ぶ様子を見ることができます。しかも撮影OKとのことで、これは行くしかないですよね。

地下鉄で京都駅まで向かい、そこから三十三間堂へゆっくり歩いていきました。ただ、最終日の今日は入場制限が「3,000人まで」と聞いていたので、ちょっと不安に。案の定、到着すると人だらけでびっくりしましたが、なんとか無事に入場できました。ちなみに拝観券は1人2,000円。そのせいか、外国人観光客が少なく、9割が日本人だった印象です。

中に入ると、スマホやカメラを構えた人で大混雑。とくに本尊の正面はぎゅうぎゅう詰めで、軽いトラブルが起きているような場面もありました。ということで、真ん中は諦めて、左右の千体千手観音の列を中心に撮影しました。

それにしても、夜の闇の中、灯明に照らし出される千体の千手観音は圧巻で、どこか幽玄で荘厳な雰囲気。気づけば、17時から19時までの2時間があっという間に過ぎていました。

この三十三間堂の夜間特別拝観、おそらく来年も開催されそうな感じでしたので、興味のある方はぜひ来年行ってみてください。ではでは。


On November 24th, I visited Sanjūsangen-dō in the evening. This year, the temple held a nighttime special viewing for the very first time. It ran for three days, from November 22nd to 24th, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. During this event, visitors could admire the 1,000 statues of the Thousand-Armed Kannon illuminated by candlelight—from outside the hall. You can’t actually enter the main hall, but since all the shōji screens on the east garden side were opened, the entire line of Kannon statues was visible from outside. And with photography allowed, there was no way I was going to miss it.

I took the subway to Kyoto Station and walked to Sanjūsangen-dō from there. Since I had heard that today, the final day, would be capped at 3,000 visitors, I was a bit anxious. As expected, the temple was absolutely packed when I arrived, but I managed to get in somehow. The admission fee was 2,000 yen per person, which might explain why there were very few foreign tourists—I'd say about 90% of the visitors were Japanese.

Once inside, it was a sea of people holding up smartphones and cameras. The area in front of the principal statue was especially crowded, to the point where it looked like small scuffles were starting to break out. So I gave up on the center area and focused on photographing the rows of Thousand-Armed Kannon statues on the left and right sides instead.

Still, the sight was breathtaking. The 1,000 Kannon figures glowing in the darkness, lit by gentle lamps, created a mystical and solemn atmosphere. Before I knew it, the two-hour viewing period—from 5 to 7 p.m.—had flown by.

This special nighttime viewing at Sanjūsangen-dō will likely be held again next year, so if you're interested, I highly recommend going. Until next time!