 tompt's Japan Travelogues | | | |
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| Page Views: 1,381 Last Visit to Japan: 2001 | Koyasan by tompt - last update: Oct 30, 2002 |
Train to Koyasan In order to reach Koyasan (Mt. Koya) you can take this cabletrain from Gokurakubashi station. Gokurakubashi can be reached by JR train from Osaka-Nimba station in one and a half hour. |
The spiders web just caught the early morning sun. |
Many statues are wearing clothes. |
This īmountainī of Jizo is very impressive. The jizo usually represent a death or aborted child. By dressing the statues the mothers can care for the babies. |
In a company grave the high ranked employees can be burried. There are mailboxes on these graves in which you can put your bussinesscard, so the company knows you have visited this sacred place. |
History of Koyasan Mt Koya is a mecca and sanctuary of the Shingon and Esoteric tradition. The esoteric tradition as a way of discovering the mysterious kingdom within our human structures and creating harmony between man and nature has had an intrinsic appeal to the Japanese people throughout the ages.
Kobo-Daishi Kukai opened the level of mysterious essence tradition after returning from Cina in 805 AD and initiated the Buddhist mission here in 816 AD for salvation of all mankind. After taking the unsurpassed mission for thirty years he went into eternal Samadhi (medition) at the present site of Okunoin at the age of 62. More than ten million followers believe thet the Daishi is still alive in this world and saving them.
Mt. Koya as a religious center didnīt allow women to come here for a thousand years. In 1872 the prohibition on women was lifted.........
More on Koyasan on the website : <a href="http://www.koya.org/eng/index.html" target="_"> http://www.koya.org/eng/index.html</a> |
Monastery
In Koyasan there are many monasteries and a lot of them offer places to sleep. We stayed in Daien In. |
garden
This monastery has a lovely japanese garden. |
dinner In the monasteries there is a strictly vegetarian menu. All dishes are prepared without meat, fish and strong spices like onions or garlic. |
The food is looking great though |
It tasted a little bit less.... So the rice and green tea was a welcome addition. |
rooms
There are private rooms in this monastery. They are ofcourse japanese style. This means sleeping on futons, and dreaming about (vegetarian) breakfast tomorrow. |
Graveyard
Along the 1.25 mile path to the Okunion Gobyo where the Daishi is enshrined are several hundred thousand old tombstones and monuments. Under the pines there is a special serene atmosphere. There are stones of emperors, samurai and religious leaders, but also companygraves. |
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 Comments for tompt about Japan | | | | |
pure1942 Sun Jun 28, 2009 20:58 UTC
Great pics and tips Tom. Looking forward to visiting Japan for myself next January. Thanks for sharing. Brian | Toshioohsako Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:00 UTC
you caught very nice pictures of castles, shrines, cherry-blossom, etc. I like your first Japan page with children and bicycle. Its a typical scene. | sailor_p Mon Jul 16, 2007 03:10 UTC
Good overview of Japan. Love the pix of sakura! :) | Paul2001 Sat Dec 17, 2005 21:51 UTC
Japan is a fascinating country. Your tips are especially helpful for anyone traveling there. |
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