First settled in 819 by the monk K?kai, Mt. K?ya is primarily known as
the world headquarters of the K?yasan Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism.
Located in an 800 m high valley amid the eight peaks of the mountain
(which was the reason this location was selected, in that the terrain is
supposed to resemble a lotus plant), the original monastery has grown
into the town of K?ya, featuring a university dedicated to religious
studies and 120 temples, many of which offer lodging to pilgrims. The
mountain is home to the following famous sites:
� Okunoin the mausoleum of K?kai, surrounded by an immense graveyard (the largest in Japan)
� Danjogaran a heartland of Mt. K?ya.
o
Konpon Dait? a pagoda that according to Shingon doctrine represents the
central point of a mandala covering not only Mt. K?ya but all of Japan
� Kong?bu-ji the head temple of the K?yasan Shingon Buddhism
� K?yasan ch?ishi-michi, the traditional route up the mountain
In
2004, UNESCO designated Mt. K?ya, along with two other locations on the
Kii Peninsula, Yoshino and Omine; and Kumano Sanzan, as World Heritage
Sites "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range"
