Kinpusenji Temple

Kinpusen-ji Temple, the head temple of Shugendo, is the symbol of Yoshino Mountain. Yoshino has long been regarded as a sacred area, and according to tradition, En no Gyoja entered the mountains in the late 7th century, attained a vision of Zao Gongen, and enshrined the deity in cherry wood, marking the founding of the temple. The temple was renovated by Gyoki in the Nara period and repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt in the Heian period. The current buildings date from the Taisho era. The main hall, Zao-do, is a massive wooden structure with a cypress-bark roof, standing 34 meters tall and measuring 36 meters on each side, making it the second-largest wooden structure in Japan after Todai-ji’s Great Buddha Hall. The principal image, Zao Gongen, is normally hidden from view but has been displayed annually for limited periods since 2012 to support restoration of the Nio Gate. In 2004, Yoshino Mountain, including Kinpusen-ji, was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range."