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Kongo Sanmaiin Temple

World Heritage Temple in Koyasan

Kongo Sanmaiin Temple is built by Masako Hojo for her late husband, Minamoto no Yoritomo, and her son, and it is the only one of more than 100 sub-temples in Koyasan that has been selected as a World Heritage Site. The pagoda of Kongo Sanmaiin Temple was built in 1223 and has been named a National Treasure of Japan.

There are more than 100 small and large sub-temples in the whole of Koyasan, but only one of them is listed as a World Heritage Site together with Kongobuji Temple, Danjo Garan, and Okunoin, and that is Kongo Sanmaiin Temple 金剛三昧院.

At the end of the Heian period, the Genji clan, led by Minamoto no Yoritomo, defeated the Taira clan and established the shogunate in Kamakura, and Japan entered the Kamakura period. Decades later, Lady Masako Hojo, Minamoto no Yoritomo’s wife, built Kongo Sanmaiin Temple For Her Late Husband and Son on Koyasan (Mount Koya).

Manywhere Trivia:
Lady Masako Hojo became a nun after her husband’s death, and was called Nun Shogun as she was the actual leader of the shogunate at that time.

In 1223, when Kongo Sanmaiin Temple was expanded, several halls were added, including the Treasure Pagoda, Sutra Collection, Kannon Hall, and Dainichi Hall, and the Treasure Pagoda that remains today is one of the oldest buildings in Koyasan and has been named a national treasure of Japan.

Plaque on the Outer Gate

The Main Hall of Kongo Sanmaiin Temple faces the gate of the temple and houses the seated statue of Aizen Myoo, which was sculpted after Minamoto no Yoritomo by Buddhist statue master Unkei, by request of Masako Hojo.

Honbo, the Main Court, is the center of the temple, where most of the temple’s ceremonies and sermons are held, and Sliding Screen Door Paintings in the Main Court are by Sotan Oguri, a famous Japanese artist of the Muromachi period.