Sazaedo Temple was built in 1796 on Mt. Iimori in Aizuwakamatsu City.  It is also known as “Entsu Sansodo.”  This temple is special because of its double spiral structure.  There are two ramps ー one goes up in a clockwise direction, and the other goes down counterclockwise.  This way, people don’t pass each other.  Because of this unique design, it was declared an Important Cultural Property in 1996.

    At the temple, there were 33 statues of Saigoku Kannon.  People could see all of them by going to the top and back.  This means they didn’t have to travel to 33 different temples.  In the old days, people wanted to make a pilgrimage of seeing 33 statues, but many couldn’t afford the time and cost.  Sazaedo was built to help them fulfill their wish.