Koya san...


Mount Koya (Koyasan) is one of Japan’s holiest mountains and the center of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism. Shingon Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi, who founded his temple on the mountain.

The drive up was the usual crazy stuff of windy mountain roads, old ladies driving 30km an hour, other cars far exceeding the speed limit. Buses shooting round corners on thin mountain roads and roadworks with one way traffic, but having the stop/go signs at old one end of the roadworks. Driving in Japan can be a real experience on some of the more "out of the way" roads.

Rengejo-in Lodging

The main reason for coming to Koyasan was to stay overnight in a Buddhist temple. We arranged to stay at a temple called rengejo-in.
The temple was pretty and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The monks invited us to evening Prayers at 5"30 pm. This turned out to be a short talk on Buddhism and why the temple followed Esoteric Buddhism and then 40 minutes of silence and contemplation. I misheard it as 14 minutes so it felt a long long time for me. BTW how those guys can sit still for so long is beyond me. We then had a special dinner (see below) and the mother of the present head monk (wife of the previous head monk) gave us a short history of the town and the life of the temple.

There is a photo of the room we had below. Basically it was a tatami room with just a screen separating each room. We were unlucky as there was quite a noisy family beside us, but they did quiet down around 10:30 so we did get some sleep. The temple also did not have separate showers. There was a communal shower/bath at the temple (separate men's and women's) so it was a fairly authentic experience.

The next morning prayers were at 6am and this time the service was quite vocal. The monks chanted mantras as we sat and watched.Then we started the day with a vegetarian breakfast. I would definitely recommend staying at a temple, it was one of the highlights of our trip.


View of the garden at Rengejo in (guest rooms in the background)


The zen garden at the entrance of the temple. The head priest designs and cares for this garden.


A closeup of one of the details in the temple design.


Our room. Notice that none of the chairs have legs. The table also had the doona attached to it and an electric heater to warm you up fitted underneath. Both left and right walls are made of screens that slide open to reveal the next room. No locks or anything, this is Japan.

When we returned from dinner in the dining room, the monks set up the futons around the table and the chairs had been moved into the entry area.


Shojin Vegetarian Cuisine - Our Dinner

was a delicious vegetarian meal. I am known as a meat eater but this wa quite tasty. We ate in the dining room cross legged on the tatami mat floor.

BTW Shojin means "Devotion"


Yes this is breakfast. Rice Mizo soup, seaweed and pickles. Not what you would get in Australia, but tasty
Another example of Shojin Vegetarian Cuisine.



Koya san photos

"Located in an 800 m high valley amid the eight peaks of the mountain, the original monastery has grown into the town of Koya, featuring a university dedicated to religious studies and 120 temples, many of which offer lodging to pilgrims." - wiki


As you drive into town you pass the old city gate entrance, the Daimon gate.


Otakejizu outside Nyonindo (Women's Temple)

The plaque for this statue reads - "This statue of Jizu, a Buddhist guardian deity was erected about 1860 by Yokoyama Take. She donated the statue in Prayer for the souls of her parents and others lost in the great Ansei earthquake which struck Edu (the present day Tokyo), devotedly working for 30 years to see it completed. People come here to pray for Scholastic achivement, a suitable marriage partner, the birth of a child and the salvation of children lost before birth."


While walking around the town we passed a number of other temples offering lodgings. All entrances seemed to be marked with lanterns and red water pots.


Entrance to yet another temple with lodging

Kongobu-ji

Kongobu-ji is the headquarters of the Koyasan Shingon sect and was a short walk from Rengejo-in in the middle of town. The present Kongobu-ji was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, rebuilt in 1861, and given its present name in 1869. The name Kongobu-ji mean s Temple of the Diamond Mountain".

So this was one of the main temple sites to see in town and it lived up to expectations. Not as gaudy as many others it had a nice charm to it.


Bell tower


Main entrance


Monks at work


There were bus loads of pilgrims walking around the temples. Many had sashes around their necks.


A great example of a rock garden inside the main temple building.


Banryu-tei rock garden completed in 1984, is Japan's largest.

"This garden was created to represent two dragons emerging from a sea of clouds to protect the Okuden area. Banryu-tei has an area that stretches 2,340 square meters and it is the largest rock garden in Japan." - ref www.koyasan.or.jp


Koyasan was high enough to still have blossoms.


A view from the main gate as we walked out and on to the next temple

Danjo Garan

This is the site of the first founding of the temple in the 9th century. There is the usual array of temples each charging a few hundred yen for entry. The area still retains a nostalgic charm and holds a more religious feel than the tourism mecca of Kyoto. Being on top of the mountain in quite a small town was one of the few times in Japan where it felt quite peaceful.


Complex map - from the guide pamphlet


A stone lantern


Daido


Kompon Pagoda (Stupa) - another enormous building with a very indian influence once inside.
Originally built in 816 it was destroyed by fire in the 19th century

Okunoin Cemetery

Believed to be Japans biggest graveyard (surprisingly strong rhetoric. Usually thing are said to be "one of the top three" rather than the best) It reminded me a little of the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Both cemeteries are tourist sites because of the famous people buried there. Pere Lachaise has Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, whereas Okunion has the founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kobo Daishi and many other famous Japanese , including the famous samurai leader Oda Nobunaga. A guide book would have helped to discover and appreciate the various markers but we enjoyed it just the same.


We arrived at the cemetery before 8am and missed most of the tour groups. For part of the time we felt we were the only one's there and it was an eerie feeling.


Huge old trees dotted the cemetery with grave markers strewn around in a chaotic fashion.


Jizu statues


The sign reads - "This is the monument to the memory of the soldiers of Japan and Australia, who were order to North Borneo (-east part of Malaysia) , and died during World War II, together with the natives who cooperated with the Japanese army and were killed. Please pray for their peaceful rest."

For an Australian perspective on Borneo in WW2 have a look at ww2australia.gov.au.



One of the many huge trees in the grounds


Crossing over into the inner sanctum photography was prohibited. The inner sanctum contains the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi. It is believed that Kobo Daishi is still alive in the mausoleum, just in deep meditation. Again this was a place with an emotional feel to it. Pilgrims dressed in traveling robes entered to pay homage and the central mausoleum was lit by thousands of lanterns which covered the roof.

After leaving the inner temple, we returned to the car a different way.


Many many many Jizu


A closeup


A marker for company workers at an aeronautical company

There were other monuments that we either did not see or did not recognise. There were other company graves for companies such as Yakult, UCC's coffee and Nissan. There is also a memorial to mourn the death of millions of white ants exterminated by a exterminator company. If you go to Koya-san a tourguide for the cemetery would be interesting, especially if you are familiar with key parts of Japanese history.

Have a look at the UCC memorial here


And that was it. We left Koyasan around 9:30 am and headed off to Osaka.



Follow the Melody Road

Taking the long way to Osaka we traveled some hairy back roads especially to try one of Japan's three "Melody Roads". They are designed so that they play a tune when you drive along them at a certain speed.


We found the road without too much trouble. It was one side of the road on a twisty mountain backwater. So after going out of our way we were keen to try it and have a giggle.


Off we went. I have not included the video because...we could hardly hear it. Maybe the car was too big, maybe the suspension was too good anyway there was a low hum as we drove along coming from the road and three people in the car thinking.."We came an hour for THIS!!". If you are a masochist then try pepaminione's youtube video of the experience and click here.


The road was grooved to create the music effect.

After another two hour drive we arrived in the city of Osaka where we were meeting Jan and his sister (who was over on a holiday). We mainly rested and had dinner so no pictures or story from Osaka. The next day we headed off home to Nagoya making a stop along the way in Kyoto.


Links to other pages on this trip

Ninja Nara Koyasan Kyoto
IgaUeno Ninja Nara Temples A night at a temple
in Koyasan		 More sights in
Kyoto



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