John Lander Photography

Onzanji Temple 18

Temple 18 Onzan-ji was founded by Gyoki. At that time, Buddhist law forbid women getting any closer to the temple than the hill called Hanaori-no-Saka. Women at the time were not allowed on any of the sacred mountains. One hundred years later, Kobo Daishi's mother came to visit him while he was training here. For seventeen days he performed an esoteric rite at the temple gate. At the end of the seventeen day ritual, the ban against women climbing the mountain was lifted and his mother was allowed to enter the temple precincts. When she entered the temple, she shaved off her hair and became a nun. Because Kobo Daishi took care of his mother after she became a nun, the temple came to be known as Onzanji, 'Temple of Gratitude to Parents’.

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Temple 18 Onzan-ji was founded by Gyoki. At that time, Buddhist law forbid women getting any closer to the temple than the hill called Hanaori-no-Saka. Women at the time were not allowed on any of the sacred mountains. One hundred years later, Kobo Daishi's mother came to visit him while he was training here. For seventeen days he performed an esoteric rite at the temple gate. At the end of the seventeen day ritual, the ban against women climbing the mountain was lifted and his mother was allowed to enter the temple precincts. When she entered the temple, she shaved off her hair and became a nun. Because Kobo Daishi took care of his mother after she became a nun, the temple came to be known as Onzanji, 'Temple of Gratitude to Parents’.