Danjo Garan

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About Danjo Garan

The Danjo Garan is the religious center that Kukai designed when he founded Koyasan in the 9th century, to represent the universe of esoteric Buddhism. It is a complex of about twenty halls, pagodas and shrines on a wide expanse of gravel and cedars in the center of the valley. Together with Okunoin, it is one of the mountain’s two main sacred sites.

The best-known building is the Konpon Daito, the large pagoda of about 48.5 meters, painted red and white. Inside it houses a statue of the Buddha Dainichi, surrounded by other images, and columns painted with bodhisattvas, forming a three-dimensional mandala. The current structure dates from 1937, after several fires. Beside it are the Kondo, the main ceremonial hall, and the west pagoda, made of dark wood.

On the grounds are also the Miedo, a hall that preserves a portrait of Kukai and opens only on special occasions; the central gate Chumon, with statues of guardian kings; and the sankonomatsu pine, with needles in groups of three, sought by visitors as an amulet. The Shinto shrine Miyashiro recalls the mountain deities that, according to tradition, yielded the site to Kukai.

Next to the Garan, the Reihokan museum houses one of the largest collections of Buddhist art in Japan, with paintings, sculptures and ritual objects from Koyasan’s temples, many designated national treasures, displayed in exhibitions that change throughout the year.