Kongobuji Temple

The name Kongobuji is a generic reference to Mount Koya that comes from Kobo Daishi’s Buddhist religious scripture. Though the site was not named as a temple until the Meiji period, it is now the central temple complex among the mountain's 117 temples. It is said that the site was originally built under a different name by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to pray to Buddha to repose the soul of his mother. It later assumed the name Seiganji Temple, and became a residence for the monk Mokujiki Ogo. In 1869 the temple was renamed Kongobuji Temple after merging with the adjacent Kosanji Temple. The temple is home to numerous attractions, including fusuma paper door paintings and a garden.