December 4 – 6, 2024, Japan. We were on our way to the . Shawn had been jonesing to go after a BBC special on the mountaintop village. We took a JR line train, and eventually changed to a slow train, and finally a cable car to Koyasan station. It was a 2 1/2 hour journey. The secluded monastic center and pilgrimage site was founded in 816 AD by the monk Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) as the center of Japanese Shingon Buddhism.

One of the unusual aspects of visiting Mount Koya is the requirement that you stay in a Buddhist temple. Most charged a pretty penny, so we searched till we found one more reasonable. We figured out why once we arrived. Hoon-in, despite the name, did not actually have a temple. The onsite priest seemed to double as a hotel clerk, and the floors were being renovated and were covered with plastic. They invited us to wake at 6:30 to pray with the priest, but we decided to catch another 30 minutes sleep till breakfast. 7am is far from the ideal breakfast hour, but I learned that if I skipped breakfast, I’d be starving by dinner.

It took us a bit to find Hoon-in, which was hidden behind an office building and house. We followed workers carrying long boards into what looked like some kind of foyer. A woman came out of an office and showed us our rooms. We dumped our bags, and walked together down the road to the Danjo Garan Sacred Temple Complex. The complex was opened by Kūkai as a place for secret training in Shingon esoteric Buddhism. When he first opened Mount Koya as a monastery, this was the first site built. Kūkai himself leveled the soil and poured his energies into building the towers and halls that would form the basis of esoteric Buddhist studies here. The Danjo Garan is said to express the world depicted in the Womb Realm Mandala. If Kongobuji is the totality and focus of Mount Koya, the Danjo Garan forms the nucleus. Along with Okunoin, where Kobo Daishi entered the next world, it has been one of the prized sites since ancient times.

I felt a special draw to Danjo Garan, not because of what I’d read, but something I felt. I visited several times daily, and would return at night to admire the Konpon Daito Great Pagooda (aka Great Stupa), all 160 ft subtly lit. I particularly loved the gardens and Hasuike pond.

From there we headed to the Daimon (Great) Gate, which marks the entrance to Koya. Originally, the central gate was a “torii” gate located further down in the winding valley below. That gate burned down from forest fires and lightning, and it was rebuilt in its current location in 1705. The two-tier tower spans across five section and is 82 ft tall. It is flanked by two Vadrajhara figures; they are considered to be the second largest such figures in Japan, after those at Todai-ji, and are the work of Edo-period sculptors. An inscription reads: “Kobo Daishi appears each morning, makes the rounds, and offers us salvation,” expressing the idea that Kobo Daishi is always with us.

We found a trail and hiked to Dake-no-benzaiten Shrine on the summit of Mt. Bentendake. Kobo Daishi had ceremonially transferred it. Nyonin-michi (Women’s Pilgrimage Trail) which runs along the ridge between the Daimon Gate and the summit of Mt. Bentendake, then dropping down Nyonin-do Hall. The trail had been a historical pilgrimage route that women traveled to worship from afar when they were banned from entering the main temple town until 1872. It passes through dense forests, and skirts the edge of the sacred plateau. The entire loop can take 8 hours. Next time.

We passed the remains of the Daimon-guchi Nyonin-do temple. I loved the brisk air and smell of evergreens, and was in my element. I was enjoying Shawn’s company, a rare occasion, as I tended to head off on my own. After about 40 minutes, we arrived at Nyonin-do Hall (Women’s Hall), the last remaining sanctuary of seven historical stations built for women pilgrims. Before the ban on women entering Koyasan was lifted, they prayed at halls like Nyonin-do at the mountain’s entrance. Being at the hall felt poignant, since I abhor discrimination of all kinds, and am especially aware of that faced by women. I was grateful there had been places like Nyonin-do where women could express their devotion and practice meditation.

As dusk fell we walked down the road past a variety of temples providing pilgrim’s lodgings as well as Kinrintou Pagoda and the Tokugawa Clan Mausoleum. Knowing the critical role of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japanese society, I made a mental note to come back when the mausoleum was open. We reached Hoon-in in time for an austere meal. Of all the food I ate in Japan, the meals at Hoon-in were my least favorite. But as they say, hunger is the best sauce. We went to bed early, as it was very cold and nightlife nonexistent. Not that I would have availed myself if available.

Next day we were both eager to visit the Okunoin Cemetery, where the moss-covered mausoleums of Kobo Daishi and so many other religious leaders and nobility lay under groves of towering cedar. Shawn found an old fashioned coffee shop and was ecstatic with the owner’s latte art. I tried a cup and hated it. I left and searched for a cafe that fit my palate. Bon On Shya Cafe was a homey spot filled with the pottery of two local master artisans. They had homemade cake (today’s special was ginger and walnut), and the latte was served in a hand crafted cup. The furniture was comfortable and I felt like I was sitting in an eclectic living room. The couple who ran the place were very kind. The woman was Australian, and the man Japanese. I left feeling hugged.

It was a rainy day, and after my cuppa, I layered up and went out into the elements. It was 3 km from Hoon-in to the cemetery, and all told about a 40 minute walk. Along the way I admired the traditional wooden residences and shops. The place felt almost since Kūkai had established Koyasan as the center of Shingon Buddhism.

I finally got to Okunoin, and saw Shawn slightly ahead of me. It had a mystical appearance as the rain continued and a mist covered the forest path. It is considered one of the most sacred places in Japan and a popular pilgrimage spot. The Ichinohashi Bridge (first bridge) marks the traditional entrance to Okunoin, and I followed protocol by bowing to pay respect to Kobo Daishi before crossing. The cementer is the largest in Japan, with over 200,000 tombstones lining the almost two kilometer long approach to Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum. Wishing to be close to Kobo Daishi in death to receive salvation, many people, including prominent monks and feudal lords, have had their tombstones erected here over the centuries.

I took my time wandering the forest hillside looking at the tombstones and reading plaques about the important people buried within. At the Gokusho Offering Hall, near a row of statues depicting Jizo (a popular Bodhisattva that looks after children, travelers, and the souls of the deceased), I made an offering and threw water at the statues to pray for departed friends and family.

The Gobyobashi Bridge crosses a stream behind the Mizumuke Jizo that separates the innermost grounds of the temple from the rest of Okunoin. I bowed again before crossing, and made sure not to take photos or eat and drink beyond this point. To the left of the bridge were a group of wooden markers placed in the stream as a memorial to unborn children. A few meters past the bridge on the left side of the path lies the Miroku Stone, housed in a small cage. Visitors are challenged to lift the stone from the cage’s lower platform to an upper platform with only one hand. It is believed that the stone feels lighter to good people and heavier to bad people, and that it can provide a connection to the Miroku Bodhisattva. It felt heavy.

Torodo Hall (Hall of Lamps) is Okunoin’s main hall for worship, built in front of Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum. Inside the hall are more than 10,000 lanterns and 50,000 statues donated on the occasion of the 1150th anniversary of Kobo Daishi’s death in 1984. Behind Torodo Hall is Kobo Daishi’s Mausoleum (Gobyo), the site of his eternal meditation. Visitors come from all over to pray to Kobo Daishi. I felt very solemn.

On the way back I crossed the canal to visit Kongobu-ji Okuno-in Gokusho (Daily Offering Hall). From there I continued to the Mound for the People of No Relatives. I wondered if this was similar to a pauper’s grave in a Potter’s field. There were grave markers for well known Japanese companies. I passed Cenotaph by Osaka Gas Company, and saw a marker for Sony. As I neared the exit, I came upon the Grave of Saint Shinran. I was surprised, as it was somewhat hidden and didn’t have any fancy markings. Shinran’s teacher, Honen, also had a tomb here.

After my peripatetic wandering, I was in a somber mood. As I walked back, I found an alternative path to the cemetery that began behind Koyasan Special Head Temple Shojoshin-in. There was still time to visit the Tokugawa Clan Mausoleum. I walked past several temples and approached the path to the mausoleum. It was built in 1643 by the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu in order for his family to have a mausoleum close to Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum. It consists of two buildings which enshrine Iemitsu’s grandfather Ieyasu and father Hidetada, the first two Tokugawa shogun. The mausoleum’s two identical buildings took twenty years to be completed and were built in the extravagant style of the early Edo Period with graceful sloping roofs, rich ornamentation, intricate carvings, lacquer and gold leaf. The two buildings stand side by side. The one on the right enshrines Ieyasu and the one on the left Hidetada. Note that numerous other mausoleums were built for Tokugawa Ieyasu and his descendants across the country. The most famous among them is Nikko’s Toshogu Shrine.

On my way back to Hoon-in, I discovered Kiyotakainarijinja, a Shinto shrine. I love Shintoism. Despite having practiced Zen and Tibetan Buddhism (dzogchen within the Nyingma tradition), I feel more comfortable with Shintoism. I guess it’s because I’m an animist at heart. It was dusk when I walked through the multiple red torii gates at the entrance of the shrine, prayed, and laughed at scarves someone had wrapped the necks of several Inari, or fox kami. I headed back to Hoon-in, where we had another austere meal, and collapsed in bed. The cold made it easier to sleep.

Next day we had a long trip to Hiroshima. We had breakfast and left our bags at the front desk, then trundled off for a latte. We were catching a 10am bus off the mountain, so we had time to spare. I went to Koyasan Reihokan Museum, built to house and preserve the religious and cultural treasures of Koyasan. The museum’s entrance hall is styled after Byodoin Temple in Uji, and it has three exhibition halls for both permanent and temporary exhibitions.um’s collection consists of thousands of religious works of art. The permanent exhibition displays statues, mandala, paintings, religious tools, and a scroll of the “Reclining Image of Sakyamuni Buddha on His Last Day”. Afterwards, I met Shawn in Café Shizuku, which had good lattes and pastries. They had a working heater, which was much appreciated on this cold wet day. With a sad heart I bade Koya goodbye, hoping I would be able to return someday.