Cultural Assets－Temples and Shrines

Tenporin-ji Temple’s origins go back to 665. In that year, a 16-year-old En no Gyoja prayed to the guardian deity Hitokotonushi no Okami and summoned the Buddhist deity Hoki Bosatsu to Mount Kongo (where En no Gyoja was undergoing ascetic training). Counted among the seven great mountains of Shugendo in the Kinki region, Mount Kongo has flourished as a sacred site since ancient times. Esteemed priests such as Gyoki, Ganjin, and Saicho have been drawn there for training. The temple was abandoned during the anti-Buddhist movement following the government’s separation of Buddhism and Shinto in the late 19th century. The temple was revived after World War II. To this day, it conveys the spirit of Katsuragi Shugen.