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Koyasan Okunoin

Tomb of Kobo Daishi Kukai

Okunoin is the most sacred place in Koyasan, and the temple tomb of Kobo Daishi Kukai is located here. In front of the temple, there is a two-kilometer-long pilgrimage path with more than 200,000 stone monuments on both sides, including those of Oda Nobunaga and other feudal lords.

Okunoin (奥の院, Inner Sanctuary) Cemetery is located on the eastern side of the temple complex of Koyasan (Mount Koya), and in order to get to the Okunoin, you must first pass through a two-kilometer-long path.

Okunoin Pilgrimage Path starts at Ichino Bridge (一の橋) and has Nakano Bridge (中の橋) as its halfway mark. There are over 200,000 stone monuments on both sides of the path, and if you look carefully, you will find many Tombstones and Pagodas of Japanese Feudal Lords, such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Date Masamune, Takeda Shingen, etc.

Manywhere Trivia:
It is a great honor for many Japanese to have their own piece of space in the Okunoin Cemetery, the resting place of master Kukai. So don’t make a fuss if you see the tomb sites of big corporations like Panasonic or Nissan here.

Walking across the third stone bridge, the Gobyono Bridge, you have entered Okunoin, the Inner Sanctuary where Kobo Daishi’s Gobyo Temple is located, which is considered The Most Sacred Place of the Entire Koyasan.

Torodo (the Lantern Hall) in front of the temple is the closest place to the resting place of Kobo Daishi Kukai, and many people still believe that he is not dead but still alive in the Okunoin, where the flow of worshipers never stops. The lantern hall also houses More Than 10,000 Long-lasting Lanterns, including the Shirakawa Lantern offered by Emperor Shirakawa and the Kishin Lantern offered by Kishin Shonin.

The Okunoin area is covered with a lush forest, and it is said that the old trees standing here are about 700 years old, some of them are almost a thousand years old. When you look at Sunlight Rays among the Trees, you will surely understand why the solemn Okunoin is considered a most sacred resting place.