Kamakura

A Kamakura Important Cultural Property at Hōjuin on Mt. Kōya. This mandala maps the realm of the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī, basis of an esoteric rite for long life.

An Important Cultural Property at Sainanin on Mt. Kōya, showing the guardian deity Daigensui Myōō. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a Yuan Chinese work.

A Kamakura ICP at Seijōshin-in on Mt. Kōya. It depicts the origin legend of the Taima Mandala, woven overnight from lotus thread for the devout Chūjō-hime.

An Important Cultural Property owned by Manganji in Wakayama. This Kamakura portrait of Emperor Toba survived the temple's 2012 fire while on deposit in Kyoto.

An Important Cultural Property at Kongobuji. This Kamakura image depicts Niu Myojin, the goddess who by legend gave Mount Koya to Kukai, fusing Shinto and Buddhism.

An Important Cultural Property at Kongobuji, from Yuan-dynasty China. Tradition calls it Yakushi, the Medicine Buddha, but its official title names only a buddha.

A Kamakura silk painting from Shōchi-in on Mount Kōya: Mañjuśrī with eight topknots and raised sword, ringed by eight youths, the icon of a rite to avert disaster.

A Kamakura silk painting at Zenjū-in on Mount Kōya: the legend of Kūkai appearing as Dainichi Nyorai while debating the eight Buddhist schools before Emperor Saga.

A Kamakura silk painting at Kōdai-in on Mount Kōya: Bishamonten, armoured guardian of the north with a treasure pagoda, worshipped for protection and good fortune.

A Kamakura silk painting at Shōchi-in on Mount Kōya: Fugen Enmei, the esoteric bodhisattva of long life, central icon of a rite to extend lifespan and worldly gain.

An early Kamakura nirvana painting at Jōkyō-ji in Arida-gawa, Wakayama, breaking convention with a great canopy and dragon king, from the Myōe-linked Saishō-ji.

This Kamakura scroll at Gobo Jakujo-in on Mount Koya shows the Immovable Wisdom King in flame with three attendant boys, by tradition ascribed to the monk Gangyo.

Painted by Kakue in 1315, this Kokoku-ji portrait honours Hotto Kokushi, the Zen monk who brought Kinzanji miso and the shakuhachi flute from Song China to Japan.

A 6,285-volume Korean Goryeo Buddhist canon at Koyasan, dedicated in 1599 by Ishida Mitsunari for his late mother and kept in an octagonal revolving bookcase.

An Important Cultural Property tachi by master swordsmith Sanenaga, one of the "Three Masters of Osafune," housed at the historic Nokami Hachimangu Shrine in Wakayama's Kimino Town.

Discover the Zushi-iri Kurikara Ryūken at Ryūkō-in on Mount Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture — an Important Cultural Property comprising a sculpted Kurikara dragon sword housed in its own dedicated reliquary cabinet. Tradition holds that this sacred sword was used by Kōbō Daishi Kūkai during his renowned rain-praying ritual at Shinsen-en in 824. Explore the symbolism of the Kurikara dragon, the artistry of the reliquary, the legends linking Kūkai with dragon kings, viewing information at the Kōyasan Reihōkan museum, and nearby attractions across this sacred mountain.

A Kamakura tachi by Kunitoki of the Higo Enju school, given to Kishu Toshogu by the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune in 1721 and held at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.

A late Kamakura tachi by Kageyori of Bizen, its tang signed and dated to 1289 and unaltered, owned by Kishu Toshogu and held at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.

A Kamakura tachi signed Sanenaga of the Osafune line in Bizen, dedicated to Kishu Toshogu by Tokugawa Tsunanori and held at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.

An Important Cultural Property at Kishū Tōshōgū: an 80-centimeter Kamakura tachi attributed to Sanenaga of Bizen, with original tang and Tokugawa-crested mounting.