Few make it to Onomichi, fewer still to Kosanji – one of Japan’s most beautiful temples. The detail and size are astonishing.
Kosanji is not old, though. It was expanded from a villa made in 1927 by an industrialist for his mother. After she died in 1934, in 1936 Kōsanji grew into a temple built in memorial to all mother’s love for their children, and the current form took over 3 decades to construct.
One of the most fantastic elements is the Hell Cave, combining elements that remind you of Buddhist cosmology, Disneyland, Halloween, and Dante’s Inferno.
For experienced Japan travelers, if you think you have seen some of the buildings elsewhere, you are right – there are clones of the Yomeimon Gate in Nikko and the Byodoin Phoenix Hall in Uji. The amount of detail put into the entire temple is simply astounding, and you haven’t seen the best of Japan until you see this place.
People are often surprised how colorful the place is, a lot more like SE Asian temples, and traditionalists may frown at how bright, even gaudy, some things may look. Some Japanese fret at how it’s more of a museum than a temple. But after getting templed out in other cities like Kyoto, where everything can become a blur, you certainly won’t forget this place long after you leave it.
Additionally, there is the Miraishin no Oka, a massive stone structure at the top of the hill made of marble shipped in from Italy.
Sadly, few travelers know this place exists, and they leave Onomichi thinking it is just a quaint hillside walk though some humdrum small temples.
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AloJapan.com