Hatsuse-dera Temple is another name, and Hase-dera Temple is the official name.  Hase-dera Temple is located on the hillside of Mt. Hatsuse overlooking the Hase Highway that connects Yamato and Ise. And it is supposed to have built in the Nara period in the first half of the 8th century, but The detailed timing and circumstances of the construction are unknown.  Hase-dera Temple was named by Emperor Shomu, who has a strong faith in Buddhism. Before that, it was closely related to Ise-Jingu Shrine, and it seems that it was a sacred place for mountain worship based on Shintoism worship. In particular, Hase-dera has a deep relationship with women, and the eleven-faced Kanzeon Bosatsu, the principal image of the Buddhism, has been the object of worship of women since the Heian period.  Visiting Hase-dera was a wish of a woman for a lifetime too. It also appears in many female classical literature such as “The Pillow Book,” “The Tale of Genji,” and “Sarashina Nikki.”  It is still a very popular temple for women as a “flower temple”.

初瀬寺は別称で長谷寺が正式名です。大和と伊勢を結ぶ初瀬街道を見下ろす初瀬山の中腹に建つ長谷寺は、創建が奈良時代、8世紀前半と推定されますが、創建の詳しい時期や事情は不明です。長谷寺と命名したのは仏教の信仰篤い聖武天皇で、それ以前は伊勢神宮と密接な関係があり、神道の自然崇拝に基づく山岳信仰の聖地であったと思われます。特に女性との関わりは深く、本尊の十一面観世音菩薩は平安時代から女性の信仰の的で、長谷寺詣では女性の一生一代の願いでした。『枕草子』『源氏物語』『更級日記』など、多くの女流古典文学にも登場します。今でも「お花の寺」として、女性にはとても人気のお寺です。