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Mount Koya

 
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is the generic name of specific mountains in Wakayama prefecture
Wakayama Prefecture

File:WakayamaMapCurrent.png is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Wakayama, Wakayama....
 to the south of Osaka
Osaka

is a Cities of Japan in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu.Osaka is a City designated by government ordinance under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture....
. Also, Koya-san is a modifying word for Kongobuji. There is no one mountain officially called Koya-san(???) in Japan.

First settled in 819 by the monk Kukai
Kukai

Kukai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese people bhikshu, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism....
, Mt. Koya is primarily known as the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism.






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Konpondaido
is the generic name of specific mountains in Wakayama prefecture
Wakayama Prefecture

File:WakayamaMapCurrent.png is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Wakayama, Wakayama....
 to the south of Osaka
Osaka

is a Cities of Japan in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu.Osaka is a City designated by government ordinance under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture....
. Also, Koya-san is a modifying word for Kongobuji. There is no one mountain officially called Koya-san(???) in Japan.

First settled in 819 by the monk Kukai
Kukai

Kukai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese people bhikshu, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism....
, Mt. Koya is primarily known as the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. Located in an 800 m high valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
 amid the eight peaks of the mountain, the original monastery
Monastery

Monastery , a term derived from the Greek language word ???ast?????, neut. of ???ast????? - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of Monk, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in Cenobium or alone ....
 has grown into the town of Koya
Koya, Wakayama

is a towns of Japan located on a plateau atop Mt. Koya in Ito District, Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The town is known as the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism....
, featuring a university dedicated to religious studies and 120 temples, many of which offer lodging to pilgrims. The mountain is home to the following famous sites:
  • Okunoin, the mausoleum of Kukai
    Kukai

    Kukai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese people bhikshu, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism....
    , surrounded by an immense graveyard (the largest in Japan)
  • Konpon Daito, a pagoda
    Pagoda

    A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia....
     that according to Shingon doctrine represents the central point of a mandala
    Mandala

    Mandala is a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism. The term is of Hinduism origin and appears in the Rig Veda as the name of the sections of the work, but is also used in other Indian religions, particularly Buddhism....
     covering not only Mt. Koya but all of Japan
  • Kongobu-ji
    Kongobu-ji

    Kongobuji is the head temple of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, located on , Wakayama prefecture, Japan. Its name means Temple of the Diamond Mountain....
    , the headquarters of the Shingon sect
In 2004, UNESCO designated Mt. Koya, along with two other locations on the Kii Peninsula
Kii Peninsula

The is one of the largest peninsulas on the island of Honshu in Japan....
, as World Heritage Sites.

Access

The mountain is accessible primarily by the Nankai Electric Railway
Nankai Electric Railway

is a private railway in Japan. IC cards are accepted.Nankai was founded in 1884, then became one of the companies that merge to form Kintetsu in 1944, but separated again in 1947....
 from Namba Station
Namba Station

is a name of two train stations in the Namba district of Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka, Japan. One is owned by Nankai Electric Railway and the other is by Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau....
 (in Osaka) to Gokurakubashi Station
Gokurakubashi Station

is a train station in Koya, Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan....
 at the base of the mountain. A cable car from Gokurakubashi then whisks visitors to the top in 5 minutes. The entire trip takes about 1.5 hours on an express train or 2 hours by non-express. Traffic by vehicle can be terrible on weekends until well into the evening. On weekdays, the mountain offers a pleasant drive followed by the excitement upon reaching the monasteries lining the summit. Many Buddhist monasteries on the mountain function as hotels for visitors providing traditional accommodation with an evening meal and breakfast.

Images


See also


  • Mount Omine
    Mount Omine

    , is a sacred mountain in Nara Prefecture, Japan, famous for its controversial ban on women and for its three tests of courage.Officially known as , it is more popularly known as Mount Omine due to its prominence in the Omine mountain range....


External links



  • (photos under Creative Commons licence)