Mount Kōya (高野山 Kōya-san)

Welcome to this post on  Koyasan. We travelled to Koyasan from Osaka. After a scenic train journey up Mt. Koya, this cable car takes you up to the town

Situated on a small plain at the top of Mount Koya is the sacred area known as the Danjo Garan, a complex of temples, halls, pagodas and Buddhist statuary 

Surrounded by a thick forest of massive cedars, the area known as Okuno-in, or the Inner Sanctuary, is the setting for a vast cemetery that features the mausolea of numerous famous Japanese, including that of the samurai ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Koyasan is home to an active monastic center founded twelve centuries ago by the priest Kukai (posthumously known as Kobo Daishi) for the study and practice of Esoteric Buddhism. It is the headquarters of the Koyasan sect of Shingon Buddhism, a faith with a wide following throughout Japan

It is cold on the mountain

Jizo, the bodhisattva is the protector of children, expectant mothers, firemen, and travelers. Most of all, he is the protector of deceased children, including miscarried, aborted or stillborn infants. The little statues are statues of Jizo Bosatsu

The cemetery is the largest in Japan

Red and orange are the dominant colours

Impressive!

The little shelter is in need of some repair

The moss keeps the Buddha warm

Less gaudy and striking for it

Sisters?

Daniela, not in red!

A long line in the sun and shadow

So carefully looked after

The cedar trees are magnificent

Gorgeous mausoleum

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Some of the walkways are large avenues, others are small pathways

Wish I could read........

Dappled cedar roots

This was a figurine we saw on a temple as we were walking in the main street. He doesn't look too happy about holding the temple up all the time!

The entrance to Kongōbu-ji (金剛峯寺) It is the ecclesiastic head temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism

Its name means "Temple of the Diamond Mountain"

The temple was first constructed as Seigan-ji Temple in 1593 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the death of his mother, rebuilt in 1861, and given its present name in 1869

The temple's modern Banryūtei (蟠龍庭) rock garden is Japan's largest (2340 square meters), with 140 granite stones arranged to suggest a pair of dragons emerging from clouds to protect the temple

I guess you have to have an arial view to see the dragons

Time for a cup of tea before heading back to Osaka. A truly magical place, Koyasan was one of the highlights of our trip to Japan. The picture on the far wall in the centre is of Kobo Daishi who founded the monastic complex at Koyasan in 816