The head temple of Koyasan Shingon, formed in 824 when the Jingansho and Takao-yamadera temples founded by Wake no Kiyomaro in 781 merged. It is one of the most important temples in Japanese Buddhist history as the place where Kukai spread the teachings of Shingon esoteric Buddhism. The National Treasure standing Yakushi Nyorai is a masterpiece of early Heian wood carving with an awe-inspiring exp…

The origins of Jingoji trace to 781, when Wake no Kiyomaro founded the Jingankokusho Shingon-ji (Jingansho temple). Around the same period, Takao-yamadera was established on Mount Takao, and in 824 these two temples merged to form Jingoji. In the early ninth century, the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi) is …