Torodo (Lantern Hall) — Attraction in Koya

Overwhelming! The Toro-do is Okunoin's main hall of worship. The hall is famous for the many, many lanterns which are lit in honor of Kobo Daishi (ak.a. Kukai). Only a small part of the 11.000 lanterns hangs in this building, the vast majority of the lanterns hang and stand in the Kinentoro-do on the right side of the Toro-do. These lamps are donated by worshippers of Kobo Daishi, and are lit eternally. The Toro-do has an other amazing treasure: in the hall's basement are 50,000 tiny statues that have been donated to Okunoin on the occasion of the 1150th anniversary of Kobo Daishi's entrance into eternal meditation in 1984. The pinnacle of your visit to...

If you come here without knowing a thing about esoteric Buddhism, you won’t simply get it. This is the key spiritual point of the Shingon Buddhism, it requires at least a basic understanding of this religion otherwise you will only see yet another pagoda but full...

Even if it's not much to see, the lantern hall is definitely beautiful. You should take off your shoes and take a look around, from the walls to the ceiling. Pictures are...