A Detailed Guide to the History and Overview of Kongobuji Temple on Mount Koya
Table of Contents
- Overview of Kongobuji Temple on Mount Koya
- History of Kongobuji Temple on Mount Koya
- Highlights of Kongobuji Temple on Mount Koya
Introduction
Mount Koya (Koyasan) is the mountaintop center of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, founded by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) in 816. This article covers how Kongobuji, its head temple, came to be, and the main sights on the mountain: the Danjo Garan, Okunoin and the temple’s main hall complex.
Overview of Kongobuji Temple on Mount Koya
Kongobuji is the head temple of the Koyasan Shingon sect, located on Mount Koya in Koya-cho, Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture. Kukai is said to have taken the name from a sutra, the “Kongobu Rokaku Issai Yuga Yugi Kyo.”
Strictly speaking, “Kongobuji” refers not just to the main hall complex but to the whole of Mount Koya: the entire mountain is treated as the temple’s precinct. There are 117 sub-temples on the mountain, 51 of which operate as shukubo (temple lodgings) for visitors.
Mount Koya was founded in 816, when Emperor Saga granted the mountain to Kukai. The building now called Kongobuji was originally Seiganji, a temple Toyotomi Hideyoshi built to pray for his late mother. In 1869 it was merged with the neighboring Kozanji and took the name Kongobuji, which the mountain had used since its founding.
Worship on the mountain centers on two places: the Danjo Garan, the first area Kukai laid out, and Okunoin, where he is believed to have entered eternal meditation. The main hall for the whole mountain is the Kondo in the Danjo Garan.
In 2004, Mount Koya was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” (see below).
History of Kongobuji Temple on Mount Koya
1. 816 – Founding of Mount Koya and Establishment of Kobo Daishi’s Training Hall
In 816, Emperor Saga granted Mount Koya to Kukai as a place for meditation and practice. Kukai had studied Esoteric Buddhism in Tang China, and legend explains why he chose a site about 800 m up, far from the capital: before sailing home he threw a ritual implement, a sanko (three-pronged vajra), toward Japan, and later found it caught in a pine tree here. The “Sanko no Matsu” pine still stands in the Danjo Garan between the Kondo and the Mieido.
2. Late 9th Century – Shinzen Completes the Garan
After Kukai entered eternal meditation in 835, his successor Shinzen completed buildings from Kukai’s plan, including the Saito (West Pagoda, finished in 886) and the Konpon Daito, which took two generations and is said to have been completed around 887.
3. Late 16th Century – Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Founding of Seiganji
*Illustrative image
When Toyotomi Hideyoshi threatened to attack Mount Koya, the monk Mokujiki Ogo negotiated with him and spared the mountain from war. In recognition, Ogo was allowed to build a temple to pray for Hideyoshi’s mother, Omandokoro. First called Teihatsuji and later Seiganji, it is the predecessor of today’s Kongobuji main complex. Its Willow Room (Yanagi no Ma) is also known as the room where Toyotomi Hidetsugu took his own life in 1595.
4. 1869 – Seiganji and Kozanji Merge
In 1869, after the Meiji Restoration, Seiganji and the neighboring Kozanji were merged and took the name “Kongobuji,” the mountain’s name since its founding. In 1872 the ban on women was lifted. Until then women could not enter the mountain and went no further than the Nyonindo, halls for women built at each of the seven entrance routes. Only one Nyonindo survives today.
5. 2004 – UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Registration
In 2004, Mount Koya was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Yoshino-Omine and the Kumano Sanzan as the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.”
Spanning Mie, Nara and Wakayama Prefectures, the property is made up of these three sacred sites, the pilgrimage routes linking them, and the surrounding cultural landscape.
Highlights of Kongobuji Temple on Mount Koya
Kongobuji Main Complex
The main complex, the successor to Seiganji, is the administrative center of the Koyasan Shingon sect and the residence of its head priest. The current Great Main Hall (Daishuden) was rebuilt in 1862, and in January 2024 twelve of the complex’s buildings were designated Important Cultural Properties. The main ones and their dates are:
- Daishuden (Great Main Hall) and Okushoin: 1862
- Sanmon (main gate): 1680
- Kyozo (sutra repository): 1679
- Shoro (bell tower): 1864
- Gomado (fire ritual hall): 1863
- Shinzendo (Shinzen’s mausoleum): 1640
- Ekamon gate, kago-bei and tsuiji walls: late Edo period
The visitor route takes in the Large Hall, with sliding-door paintings attributed to Saito Toshitsu, the Willow Room and the Banryutei rock garden (see below). In the Shin-Betsuden hall, visitors are served tea and monks give short talks from time to time.
Mieido (Portrait Hall)
The Mieido in the Danjo Garan was built as Kukai’s personal chapel. It was named after the portrait of Kobo Daishi said to be painted by Prince Shinnyo, which was later enshrined here. It is regarded as the most important sacred space on the mountain and was designated an Important Cultural Property in December 2024.
The interior is normally closed. Only once a year, after the Otaiya service on the eve of the Kyusho Mieku (the 21st day of the 3rd lunar month), may the public enter the outer sanctum (the evening of May 6 in 2026).
Okunoin
Okunoin is the heart of faith on Mount Koya, where Kukai is believed to remain in eternal meditation. The formal approach starts at Ichinohashi Bridge; along the roughly 2 km path to his mausoleum stand more than 200,000 graves of feudal lords, memorials and monuments under ancient cedars.
The Torodo (Lantern Hall) in front of the mausoleum is open from 6:00 to 17:00. At the Mando Kuyoe (Candle Festival) on August 13, the path from Ichinohashi to Okunoin is lit by about 100,000 candles.
■ Konpon Daito (Great Fundamental Pagoda)
Completed around 887 over two generations, by Kukai and Shinzen, the Konpon Daito is said to be the first pagoda of the tahoto style in Japan. The current pagoda was rebuilt in 1937 and was designated an Important Cultural Property, together with the Kondo, in December 2024.
Inside, the main image, Taizokai Dainichi Nyorai, is surrounded by the four Buddhas of the Kongokai. The sixteen pillars bear Domoto Insho’s paintings of the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas, and the corner walls show the Eight Patriarchs who transmitted Esoteric Buddhism, so the whole interior forms a three-dimensional mandala.
Daimon (Great Gate)
The Daimon is the main gate at the entrance to Mount Koya. After losses to forest fires and lightning, the present gate was rebuilt in 1705 and stands 25.1 m tall.
The Kongo Rikishi (Nio) guardian statues on either side were carved by the mid-Edo sculptors Uncho and Koi and are said to be second in size only to those at Todaiji’s Nandaimon Gate.
Banryutei (Coiling Dragon Garden)
Banryutei is the rock garden of the main complex, created in 1984 for the 1,150th anniversary of Kobo Daishi’s entry into eternal meditation. At 2,340 m², it is one of the largest rock gardens in Japan. It depicts a pair of dragons, male and female, facing each other in a sea of clouds and guarding the Okuden hall.
The stones representing the dragons are granite from Shikoku, Kukai’s birthplace, and the white sand for the clouds is Shirakawa sand from Kyoto.
■ Daishi Kyokai (Great Master’s Assembly Hall)
The Koyasan Daishi Kyokai is the headquarters for the Koyasan Shingon sect’s missionary work, goeika hymns and religious dance. Its Great Lecture Hall was built in 1925 to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the mountain’s founding, and its main image is Kobo Daishi.
In the Jukaido hall behind it, visitors can take part in jukai, receiving the “Ten Bodhisattva Precepts,” Buddhist guidelines for daily life, from an ajari (master priest).
Kondo (Golden Hall)
The Kondo is the main hall of the whole mountain, where most important ceremonies are held. It began as the lecture hall Kukai built at the founding and has served as the main hall since the mid-Heian period.
The present building, the seventh reconstruction, was completed in 1932. Designed by Takeda Goichi in steel-reinforced concrete, it was designated an Important Cultural Property in December 2024. The main image, Ashuku Nyorai (Yakushi Nyorai), was carved by Takamura Koun and is a hidden Buddha not shown to the public.
In Closing
The sights fall broadly into three areas: the Danjo Garan, which Kukai laid out first; Okunoin, where he is believed to rest in meditation; and the Kongobuji main complex, the sect’s headquarters. Some events happen only on set dates, such as the Mieido opening (eve of the 21st day of the 3rd lunar month) and the Candle Festival (August 13), so check them before planning your trip.
