Kongōbu-ji Temple

Overview

Kongōbu-ji is the ecclesiastic head temple of Kōyasan Shingon Buddhism, located on Mount Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture. Founded by Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) as a training ground for esoteric Buddhist practice, it stands on a basin-like plateau of about 800 metres surrounded by mountains rising around 1,000 metres. It forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range," inscribed in 2004.

Highlights

• ●The head temple of Kōyasan Shingon Buddhism, at the centre of a mountain area with more than a hundred temples
• ●Holds cultural properties designated as National Treasures and a National Historic Site of Japan
• ●Preserves sliding-screen paintings by Kanō Tanyū and members of the Kyoto Kanō school
• ●The Banryūtei rock garden covers about 2,340 square metres, arranging 140 granite stones to suggest two dragons emerging from clouds

History

The temple traces its origins to Seigan-ji, built in 1593 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the death of his mother. It was rebuilt in 1861 and given its present name in 1869. Since the Meiji era the name "Kongōbu-ji" has referred to a single temple, though it was formerly synonymous with the whole of Mount Kōya as the head temple of the Shingon school.

Map

34.2141, 135.5841 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Explore the main temple buildings and the history of the head temple
2. 2View the sliding-screen paintings of the Kyoto Kanō school
3. 3Take in the Banryūtei rock garden and its granite dragons
4. 4Walk among the surrounding temples and pilgrimage paths on the mountain

Did you know?

💡 The temple's name is said to derive from the Yugikyō sutra.

Nearby spots