Mount Kōya

This article is about the mountain in Japan. For the historical Haida chief in the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia, see Koyah. For the language spoken in India, see Koya language.
"Koyasan" redirects here. For the novel by Darren Shan, see Koyasan (novel).
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type Cultural, Religious
Criteria ii, iii, iv, vi
Reference 1142
UNESCO region Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 2004 (28th Session)

Mount Kōya (高野山 Kōya-san) is the name of mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka. Also, Kōya-san is a modifying word for Kongōbu-ji (金剛峯寺). There is no mountain officially called Kōya-san (高野山) in Japan.

First settled in 819 by the monk Kūkai, Mt. Kōya is primarily known as the world headquarters of the Kōyasan Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. Located in an 800 m high valley amid the eight peaks of the mountain (which was the reason this location was selected, in that the terrain is supposed to resemble a lotus plant), the original monastery has grown into the town of Kōya, 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:

In 2004, UNESCO designated Mt. Kōya, along with two other locations on the Kii Peninsula, Yoshino and Omine; and Kumano Sanzan, as World Heritage Sites "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range".[2]

The complex includes a memorial hall and cemetery honoring Japanese who were imprisoned or executed for committing atrocities during World War II.[3]

Access

Koya-san is accessible primarily by the Nankai Electric Railway from Namba Station (in Osaka) to Gokurakubashi Station 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.

Local automobile traffic can be very heavy on weekends until well into the evening. On weekdays, however, 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.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koyasan.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Okunoin.

Notes

  1. Keevak 2008, p. 125
  2. Hiragana Times, "Koyasan- A Sacred Tranquility", Volume #294, April 2011, pp. 34-37.
  3. Victoria, Brian A., "Mount Koya sites exemplify ‘parallel universe’ where war criminals are martyrs", Japan Times, 5 August 2015
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mount_Koya.

Further reading

Nicoloff, Philip L. (2008). Sacred Koyasan: A pilgrimage to the Mountain Temple of Saint Kōbō Daishi and the Great Sun Buddha. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7259-0. 

Coordinates: 34°12′45″N 135°35′11″E / 34.21250°N 135.58639°E / 34.21250; 135.58639

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.