Nago-dera
Location. Nago-dera is located on the middle slopes of Mount Nago at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula, and is surrounded by forest. The area around the temple has important stands of "sudajii" Castanopsis, the "tabunoki" machilus species of laurel, the "yabunikkei" species of cinnamomum, camellia and the "himeyuzuri" species of daphniphyllum. History. According to temple legend contained in the "Nago-dera engi" text, Nago-dera was founded by the wandering holy ascetic Gyōki around 717 AD to pray for the recovery of Empress Genshō from an illness. However, no historical documents have survived to substantiate  this legend, and the history of the temple is thus uncertain. Most of the temple was destroyed by a fire in 1703, and its oldest existing structures are its main hall (1732) and pagoda (1761), both of which are registered as Chiba Prefectural Important Cultural Properties. Nago-dera was used as a place of worship by successive samurai clans, starting with Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), Satomi Yoshizane (1412–1488) and members of the Tokugawa clan. The temple currently belongs to the Shingon Chizan Sect of Japanese Buddhism. Its "Gohonzon" (primary object of veneration) is a bronze statue of  , which dates from the Kamakura period. This statue is a national Important Cultural Property. Order in Buddhist pilgrimages. Nago-dera is the 33rd and last in the "Bandō Sanjūsankasho", a pilgrimage circuit of 33 Buddhist temples in the Kantō region of eastern Japan dedicated to the Bodhisattva Kannon.