National Treasure
Doganji Kannondo is a small temple hall in Takatsuki, northern Shiga, near the north shore of Lake Biwa. It houses a standing statue of the Eleven-Headed Kannon carved from a single block of Japanese cypress in the 9th century — widely regarded as the finest of its kind in Japan.
The hall is open every day of the year. A guide accompanies every visitor and explains the statues in Japanese.
Also: Amida Nyorai (12th c.), a small sandalwood-style Eleven-Headed Kannon, and Japan's oldest lion-and-elephant pedestals. Photography is not permitted inside the hall.
In 1570, during the Battle of Anegawa between the Oda and Azai–Asakura armies, the temple burned to the ground.
The villagers rushed into the flames, carried the Kannon out and buried it in the earth to save it. The spot where it was hidden is still marked in the temple grounds today.
In 1888 the statue was surveyed by Ernest Fenollosa and Kuki Ryūichi, who praised it as one of the finest in Japan. It was designated a National Treasure in 1897.