Jison-in Temple

Jison-in is a Koyasan Shingon Buddhist temple in Kudoyama Town, Wakayama Prefecture. It marks the start of the Choishi-michi pilgrimage trail to Mount Koya and is known as "Nyonin Koya" (Koya for women). A pagoda (tahoto) stands out in the quiet grounds at the foot of the mountains, south of the Kinokawa River.

Tradition says that in 816 Kukai (Kobo Daishi) built it at the foot of Mt. Ambiki as the administrative office for the founding of Mount Koya. It stood at the entrance to the main approach to Koya and also served as lodging. Because women were barred from Mount Koya at the time, Kukai's mother stayed here, and the place name Kudoyama is said to come from Kukai descending the mountain about nine times a month to visit her.

According to tradition, after his mother died Kukai saw the Maitreya Buddha in a dream, built a mausoleum hall and enshrined a Maitreya image he had carved himself together with his mother's spirit. The temple came to be called Jison-in after "Jison", another name for Maitreya. Because it was a place where women could pray in an era when they could not climb Mount Koya, it came to be called "Nyonin Koya", and people still visit to pray for safe childbirth and conception. Floods of the Kino River in 1540 and 1544 are said to have destroyed most of the original buildings.

The main sight is the Miroku-do, a cypress-bark-roofed hall with a pyramidal (hogyo-zukuri) roof. It is a national Important Cultural Property, and the wooden seated Maitreya inside is a National Treasure, though it is a hidden image traditionally unveiled only once every 21 years. The hall is part of the World Heritage site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". The grounds also hold structures designated by Wakayama Prefecture, including the pagoda, gates and walls.

The Choishi-michi, a pilgrimage route of about 22 km from here to Mount Koya, was inscribed as World Heritage in 2004; walking all of it takes roughly 6 to 7 hours, but even a short stroll behind the temple gives a feel for the route.

Allow 30 to 60 minutes for the grounds. It is about a 25 to 30-minute walk from Kudoyama Station on the Nankai Koya Line. Niutsuhime Shrine (about 4.4 km) and Koyasan Kongobu-ji (about 9.5 km) are also nearby.