Hojo-in
Hojo-in is a semi-special head temple located in Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture.
The principal image is the Vajrayana
Vairocana, which is considered a secret Buddha.
According to temple legend, the temple was
founded by Rinken Daitoku, and is said to be one of six temples built by
imperial order during the visit of Emperor Goshirakawa.
Mount Koya has been hit by fires many
times, but Hojoin has never been hit by a fire in its 870-year history, and the
halls built in the Edo period remain.
During the Genroku period (1688-1703), it
was converted by the Matsuyama family of the Tanba Sasayama domain, and later
became the family temple of the Kan'innomiya family.
The Kan'innomiya family was one of the
hereditary Imperial families established in the Edo period (16th - 18th
century), and Emperor Kokaku ascended to the throne from this Imperial family
at the end of the Edo period.
The temple has a silk ink painting of
Benzaiten, a nationally designated important cultural property, and a silk
colored painting of Acala with two children, a prefecturally designated
cultural property.
Take the bus (20 minutes bus ride )from Koyasan Station on the Nankai Koya
Line and get off at Kongobu-ji Temple bus stop, then walk for 10 minutes.
