"Onomichi-urae Byobu", a picturesque folding screen of the Onomichi seashore
drawn in the mid-Edo era, depicts accurately the characteristics of the town of
Onomichi. The narrow Onomichi Channel, running for 6 kilometers east to west
between the mainland and Mukaishima Island, has been a good natural harbor.
You can see the roofs of warehouses, local people's houses jammed up to the
coastline and a red-painted hall that looks like the main hall of Senkoji Temple on
a hill. Four people in the hall are applauding the splendid view of Onomichi
Channel.
 Onomichi has been a port town, a temple town and a tourist town since its
earliest stages. In ancient times, envoy ships to China (T'ang) harbored in the
port. In 1168, it became a storage place for Otanosho (now Sera-gun) and later
developed into a trading port dealing with China (Ming).
 Many temples were founded and reconstructed by wealthy local merchants in
Onomichi. Jodoji Temple, where Takauji Ashikaga prayed to win the war, was
rebuilt by the magnate Koa. We are able to find in documents the names of
Doen and Dokei, who came from Onomichi and built Tenneiji Temple with a
magnificent three-story pagoda.
 Nowadays the time-honored temple touring course has been completed as a
stone-paved lane. The 2.8 kilometer course connects 25 temples from Jikoji
Temple near Onomichi Station to Kairyuji Temple.