People go to temples and shrines to pray for all kinds of things, and specific places specialise in protection from certain diseases and ailments. They often refer to common and similar problems but every now and then one comes across slightly more obscure examples such as the shrine dedicated to feet or the temple that cures you of stomachaches! This fairly ordinary looking countryside temple in Kyoto though embodies the desire to put a stop to something that is often seen as embarrassing.

The Arashiyama area of Kyoto is a very popular one for tourists these days with the bamboo forest a particular highlight for many. However, less than three kilometres south of there is a completely deserted wooden temple dedicated to nocturnal enuresis or bedwetting as it is informally known. Personally, I can’t remember when I last wet the bed so it must’ve been a few years ago!! I jest of course but bedwetting is a serious problem which can result in a lot of emotional stress for those affected by it.

After less than eight hours at my hotel near Uzumasa station I checked out and headed south-west to find this unique and quirky temple. Buses do go directly there but not at that very early time of the day. There was one that went some of the distance but it would have only saved me ten minutes walking time so I just decided to do it all on foot for 45 minutes.

I arrived right at 6:30 am having struggled to locate the entrance point for a few moments as the pin on Google Maps isn’t quite in the correct place! The temple is located in a narrow area between two houses at the top of some stone steps accessed through a wooden porch.

On the face of it, it’s a fairly nondescript small temple but located within it are a load of wooden ladders ranging from 10 centimetres to one metre in length. They are dedicated to prevent bed wetting but how did all this develop I hear you wonder!

The story goes that a long time ago there was a young boy training to become a monk on Mount Hiei (located nearly 30 kilometres away to the north-east of this temple) who urinated in his sleep every night. In the end he sadly became so distressed by the whole ordeal that he took his own life. He was reborn as a jizo (guardian deity of children) and wanted to help others who suffer from the same problem.

The original jizo was located in the boy’s birthplace halfway up a cliff meaning that it was not so easy to visit. The offering of ladders may (or may not!) be related to the effort needed in reaching it but in the present day it is now enshrined at the foot of the mountain. The dedication of ladders contines though.

The rule is that the steps on the ladder must be equal to the age of the person praying so,  as you’d expect, the majority of them have around ten steps but there are also some with 80 or 90 so it isn’t just children, but the elderly too who suffer from bedwetting. Some of the ladders display messages on them about the hopes of the visitors who don’t want to wear diapers forever and so on.

Bedwetting is something that often raises a smile but it’s no laughing matter for those affected, and this temple’s dedication of ladders embodies the desire to help those who follow hoping that they will no longer have to struggle.

• Yakushizen-ji Temple is located at Arashiyama Yakushishitacho, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto. It is open 24 hours a day.

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