Toji Temple

To-ji is the head temple of the To-ji Shingon school. It was established as an official temple when Heian-kyo (ancient Kyoto) was founded, together with Sai-ji (the West Temple). After it was bestowed upon Kukai (Kobo Daishi), it became a major center of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism and has drawn deep devotion ever since. Most of the complex was destroyed during the 1486 ikki uprising, and the main structures seen today were rebuilt from the late medieval period through the Edo period. The five-story pagoda, a National Treasure, was rebuilt in 1644 (Shoho 1) by Tokugawa Iemitsu and stands 57 m tall—the tallest surviving wooden pagoda among Japan’s ancient pagodas. The statues in the Lecture Hall form a “three-dimensional mandala,” representing the mandala world in sculptural form as envisioned by Kukai. The Mieido Hall stands on the site where Kukai lived; it features an elegant cypress-bark roof and white walls and enshrines a seated image of Kobo Daishi. On the 21st of every month (Kobo Daishi’s memorial day), a lively market called Kobo-ichi (“Kobo-san”) is held on the grounds, with a wide variety of goods from daily items and food to antiques.