Editing Database: Koyasan

{{Spoilerhd|20 June 2025|[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]}}
Kukai established Kongobu-ji temple in Koyasan (or Mount Koya) as a center for ascetic practice when he founded the Shingon school in the early 9th century; although the position as head of the Shingon was taken by To-ji and Ninna-ji in the capital, Koyasan was the main temple location in Kii province during the Middle Ages. Most of the main priests at Kongobu-ji temple were the children of Kii samurai, meaning that establishing good relationships with Koyasan could be useful among the lords to maintain their territories and expand their authority.

Based on the belief that Miroku (or Maitreya) would appear on Mount Koya 5.6 billion years after the death of Buddha to save the world, many customs emerged as a way to receive Miroku’s salvation, including burying sutras, one’s own hair, or the remains of close relatives. These customs spread among the aristocrats of the imperial court from the 11th century and, by the Middle Ages, the belief in Koyasan had become so widespread among the warriors of the shogunate that many pavilions and pagodas were built with their help. In the 16th century, several prominent warlords (such as the Takeda family of Kai, Uesugi of Echigo, Hojo and Satake of Kanto, and Mori of the west) had established burial sites at Koyasan.

Low-ranking priests known as Koyahijiri spread the Koya faith among the common people in various regions. However, in 1578, Oda Nobunaga arrested and executed many of these priests, believing that Koyasan was helping Nobunaga’s enemies.
[[Category:Animus EGO database entries]]
[[Category:Database: Marvels of Japan]]
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