Thursday 13 December 2012

Koyasan and Kyoto

Last week, for the long weekend I went to Koyasan in Wakayama Prefecture. Koyasan is a home to an active community of Buddhist monks who study and practice Esoteric Buddhism. It was founded twelve centuries ago by Kobo Daishi on the top of Mount Koya which is surrounded by eight other mountains, symbolizing a lotus flower.  It is a very peaceful and serene place.
It is difficult to get to Koyasan so I decided to stay overnight. I stayed in Eokin Temple which was build 1200 years ago. Above is a picture of the garden that my room lead off to. The temple was very beautiful and the monks were so friendly and interesting to talk to.  
There are many shrines and temples to walk around. My favorite was this Tori-gate shrine (below), it was quite dilapidated but I think that added character and it led to a beautiful cedar forest.
After dinner on my first day, I walked through the cemetery which is the final resting place for many famous Japanese Lords, Lady's, Monks, Priest and poets. It was very eerie but spiritual. The cemetery is set among an ancient ceder forest and the trees are hundreds of years old which creates a mystical feeling.
The next day I attended a fire ceremony at Eokin Temple, it was a very unique experience.
After breakfast in my room, which was a delicious vegetarian feast with tofu I went to see the other Temples. I walked through the cemetery again to the Mausoleum of Kobo Daishi which is the most sacred place in Koyasan because this is where his body is enshrined. I couldn't take picture there but it was a very beautiful temple. Below shows the Buddha statues at the entrance, people throw water from the river on the statues to pray for the dead.
I viewed a lot of the other temples but couldn't take many pictures.
The next day I went to Kyoto to see the Maple leaves at Tofuku-ji Temple. The weather was perfect and the colours of the leaves were breathtaking. This was the first time I'd gone to Kyoto for Maple viewing and it was worth it.