In front of you is Sannenzaka, one of the prettiest slopes in Kyoto. Watch your step: according to an old superstition, anyone who falls on this slope will die within three years.

1A name with two readings

The slope has two names. The one considered original is Sanneizaka, “the slope of the easy birth”: women came up this way to pray for a safe delivery to the Koyasu Kannon, worshipped within the grounds of Kiyomizu-dera at the top. Over time the pronunciation Sannenzaka took over, which can be read as “three-year slope”, and the superstition may have grown out of that pun.

2Cures for bad luck

Kyoto people found an antidote: the gourd, hyōtan. Its shape was believed to trap the soul trying to escape the body after a fall. Some shops still sell little gourds as charms. Another, more practical explanation is that the superstition kept people from running down such a steep and slippery slope.

The wooden houses you see are part of a historic district protected since 1976. If you carry on north, you will come down to Ninenzaka, the “two-year slope”, its younger sister.

The superstition is folk tradition. There is no record linking falls on this slope to later deaths.

3What to look for

  • The gourds hanging up or for sale in some of the shops.
  • The stone steps, worn down in the middle.
  • The Yasaka Pagoda between the roofs, looking north-west.

Documented

The name Sanneizaka is linked to pilgrimages to the Koyasu Kannon of Kiyomizu-dera, and the area has been a protected historic district since 1976.

Oral tradition

The belief that anyone who falls on the slope will die within three years, and that gourds prevent it, is a folk superstition.

Sources and credits

City of Kyoto, Sannenzaka preservation district; Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, groups of traditional buildings; Kiyomizu-dera Temple, information on the Koyasu Kannon.

Photos:

  • The stone steps of Sannenzaka between traditional wooden houses: Aporon999, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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