Hase 初瀬, still to be found in Sakurai 桜井 city in the north of Nara 奈良 prefecture, was the location of a famous temple: Hasedera 長谷寺, which had been a place of pilgrimage since the Heian period. Aristocratic visits there to worship Kannon 観音 are recorded in both the Tale of Genji and the Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon.