Temples of Koya-san

Monica got in touch with the guys we'd met on the Okunoin tour the night before - Sam, Matt, and Logan - and we made plans to meet them by Ieyasu Tokugawa's mausoleum. (Wait - didn't we see that already in Nikko?)

While Tosho-gu (in Nikko) was built by Ieyasu's son, Hitedada, it was enlarged by his grandson, Iemitsu. Tokugawa Ietmitsu is also responsible for this - much smaller - mausoleum in Koya-san. Instead of bright colors, the structures here are more subtle, all varnished and gilded wood, with only a few spots of bright red paint.

The guys showed up and somehow, we started talking about our goshuin-cho. They hadn't heard about shuin, so our next stop ended up being at a nearby temple, Nan-in, where they each found a book - with wooden covers - and had them stamped. Monica and I checked out the exterior of the temple as we waited. It had an especially cool dragon painted on the ceiling of the porch.

The five of us walked back to the center of town, and then down another side street to reach Koya-san's main temple complex, Danjo Garan. Tall, manicured shrubs and maple trees lined the entry. Upon coming into the flat area where most of the structures are built, the first thing that catches your eye is a grand, bright orange pagoda.

The Konpan Daito, as its known, is supposed to be the center of a mandala that stretches across Koya-san, and all of Japan. It's only two tiers, but it seems massive. The paint looked shiny and new - we wondered who has the job of getting up on a high ladder to repaint the upper story.

Also nearby was the grand hall, or Kondo. Monica and I - a bit templed-out at this point - stayed outside, checking out the other structures, while the guys went in. Kobo Daishi planned these two buildings; his successors completed them and continued adding on to the complex. 

I was struck by the Chumon gate and its Nio. While they retained some traditional features, they were also clad in intricately carved armor, with a cicada on Ungyo and a dragonfly on Agyo. I read later that they were indeed modern; a neat twist on a common subject.

We also saw the smaller Toto (Eastern) and Saito (Western) pagodas. Saito was especially beautiful. It and the nearby Sanno-in were some of the few religious buildings I saw in Japan that seemed almost shabbily aged. They fit in perfectly among the ancient cedar trees.

There was even one building, the Rokkaku Kyuzo, with a sort of wheel around it that could be pushed. It houses sacred sutras and is one of the few remaining in Japan where anyone is allowed to rotate the wheel. After giving it a spin, we walked back toward the center of town, wished the guys luck on their pilgrimage, and headed back toward Okunoin.