Konpon Daito Pagoda at Danjo Garan Temple, Mount Koya, Wakayama, Japan; Shutterstock ID 661087084; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

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Konpon Daitō

Kii Peninsula


The most interesting structure at the Garan is the Konpon Daitō, a 50m-tall, bright-vermilion pagoda seated at what is considered to be the centre of the lotus-flower mandala formed by Kōya-san's eight mountains. The main object of worship is Dainichi-nyōrai (Cosmic Buddha), surrounded by four attendant Buddhas and, painted on pillars, 16 bodhisattva, which together compose a three-dimensional mandala of the Shingon Buddhist cosmos.

Originally, it's said, the pillars were painted by Kōbō Daishi himself; the current building (and paintings) date to 1934.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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1. Kondō

0.04 MILES

The Garan's kondō is the temple's main hall and enshrines Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of medicine and healing. First constructed in the early 9th century,…

2. Garan

0.05 MILES

The name of this temple, which is sometimes called Danjo Garan or Dai Garan, derives from the Sanskrit saṅghārāma, which means monastery. With eight…

3. Chūmon

0.09 MILES

This temple gate was renovated for Kōya-san's 1200th anniversary in 2015, after an 1843 fire. Two of the original statues of guardian kings enshrined in…

4. Sai-tō

0.09 MILES

The Western Pagoda was most recently rebuilt in 1834.

5. Reihōkan

0.16 MILES

Several important artworks from Kōya-san's temples are collected here, most notably some Heian-era wooden sculptures of the Buddha and Fudō Myō-ō…

6. Kongōbu-ji

0.25 MILES

This is the headquarters of the Shingon sect and the residence of Kōya-san's abbot. The main gate is the temple's oldest structure (1593); the present…

7. Tokugawa Mausoleum

0.31 MILES

These adjacent mausoleums were completed in 1643 at the behest of the third Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, for his grandfather, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and…

8. Ichi-no-hashi

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This simple stone bridge marks the entrance to the sacred Oku-no-in complex.

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