Chumon (Central Gate) of Danjo Garan Temple with Sakura, Mount Koya, Wakayama, Japan; Shutterstock ID 635857331; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

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Chūmon

Kii Peninsula


This temple gate was renovated for Kōya-san's 1200th anniversary in 2015, after an 1843 fire. Two of the original statues of guardian kings enshrined in the gate were rescued from that fire, and two additional ones were carved to make the full set of four.


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1. Garan

0.05 MILES

The name of this temple, which is sometimes called Danjo Garan or Dai Garan, derives from the Sanskrit saṅghārāma, which means monastery. With eight…

2. Kondō

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The Garan's kondō is the temple's main hall and enshrines Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of medicine and healing. First constructed in the early 9th century,…

3. Konpon Daitō

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The most interesting structure at the Garan is the Konpon Daitō, a 50m-tall, bright-vermilion pagoda seated at what is considered to be the centre of the…

4. Sai-tō

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The Western Pagoda was most recently rebuilt in 1834.

5. Reihōkan

0.14 MILES

Several important artworks from Kōya-san's temples are collected here, most notably some Heian-era wooden sculptures of the Buddha and Fudō Myō-ō…

6. Kongōbu-ji

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This is the headquarters of the Shingon sect and the residence of Kōya-san's abbot. The main gate is the temple's oldest structure (1593); the present…

7. Tokugawa Mausoleum

0.4 MILES

These adjacent mausoleums were completed in 1643 at the behest of the third Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, for his grandfather, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and…

8. Ichi-no-hashi

0.94 MILES

This simple stone bridge marks the entrance to the sacred Oku-no-in complex.