Kōsan-ji
耕三寺
A Buddhist temple built for quiet — halls, gardens and incense smoke.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons — click any image for the photographer and licence.
What this place is
Kōsan-ji (耕三寺) is a Hongan-ji school Jōdo Shinshū temple on the island of Ikuchijima in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Founded by the industrialist Kōzō Kanamoto (later Koso Kōsanji) in 1936 in honour of his deceased mother, and with an area of approximately fifty thousand square metres, many of its structures are modelled upon the country's most famous historic temples and shrines. The Hill of Hope (未来心の丘, Miraishin no Oka) is a monument landscaped with five thousand square metres of Carrara marble, weighing some three thousand tons, by Kazuto Kuetani. The Kōsan-ji Museum houses over two thousand items, including nineteen Important Cultural Properties.
Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Why it is worth the trip
- Main halls housing Buddhist statuary, some of it designated National Treasure or Important Cultural Property.
- Gardens designed to be looked at rather than walked through — raked gravel, moss, borrowed mountain scenery.
- Wooden architecture with deep eaves and joinery assembled without nails, often rebuilt over many centuries.
What you can do here
- Light incense at the burner and waft the smoke over yourself before entering the main hall.
- Sit on the veranda facing the garden — that is the intended way to see it, and it costs nothing extra.
- Receive a goshuin seal, or try a short zazen / sutra-copying session where offered.
- Walk the temple's pagoda, bell tower and sub-temples; many stay open later than the main hall.
Getting there
We do not have step-by-step transit directions for this spot yet. Open the location on Google Maps for routes from where you are staying.
Good to know before you go
- Remove your shoes where indicated and carry them in the plastic bag provided.
- Keep voices low inside halls; photography of the principal image is often prohibited.
- Autumn foliage and spring blossom seasons bring long queues — go right at opening.
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