Temple details

The history of Kōjinyama Kannon-ji begins in 812, when Kūkai (774-835), the founder of Shingon sect, visited this mountain and enshrined the divine spirit of a Japanese legendary Prince Yamato Takeru in a form of Buddhist statue. From this time the mountain was called Kōjikayama (Mount Kōjika) and was believed to be the final resting place for the Prince. In 1087 a monk from Yamato province called Hōryō visited this area after receiving a divination from Goddess Kannon. He sat under the hinoki cypress tree and carved a statue of Jūichimen Kannon (Eleven-Faced Kannon). Then he built a hall and enshrined her inside.

Kōjinyama Kannon-ji was originally called Kōjikayama (Mountain of Divine Matters), but after becoming a sub-temple of Mount Kōya it borrowed a kanji character used in its name and changed the name to Kōjinyama (Mountain of Supreme Deity). Commonly it is known as Kōjinyama (Mountain of Sanbō Kōjin).

The Main Hall of Kōjinyama Kannon-ji enshrines Jūichimen Kannon and three bronze statues of Hindu gods: Nitten (Sun Deva), Gatten (Moon Deva) and Jiten (Earth Deva). Also in its precinct there is a Bell Tower with a bell donated by a noble lady and politician Lady Kasuga (1579-1643), and inner sanctuary with two statues of Sanbō Kōjin (god of land, hearth fire, protector against disaster) and Kumen Kannon (Nine-Faced Kannon).

The mountain is famous in Japan as a stage of yakuza brawl that had place in April of 1866 and involved the most famous yakuza and folk hero Shimizu Jirochō (1820-1893) together with his sworn brother Kira no Nikichi (1839-1866). A monument in memory of Kira who was killed on that day stands within the temple grounds. He was shot with a matchlock (now in temple’s possession) which bullets left marks on some of the temple’s buildings.

Seiyōzakki

Kōyōzan Kōgū-ji is located in Takamiya about 20 chō northwest from Shōno village. The main statue is a Jūichimen Kannon. It is a temple number 23 of Ise Pilgrimage. Commonly known as Kōjinyama.

The maple leaves turning red on the far Mount Kōjiga look like the light of compassion emitted from Goddess Kannon.