Dainichi-in Toen-ji Temple

The Dainichi-in Toen-ji is a historical temple founded in the early ninth century (810 – 824 AD) by the renowned Buddhist monk Kukai (a.k.a. Kobo Daishi) in the northern foothills of Mount Fuji. Originally established as a Shingon sect temple, it converted to the Tendai sect during the Kamakura period and remains so to this day. The temple and its location were revered as a training ground for Fujisan Shugendo practitioners and reached its peak in the late Edo period as the base for the “Motohachi-ko Sacred Site” (present-day Oshino Hakkai Springs), a purification site for Fujikō pilgrims. In 1711, a few years after the Hoei Eruption of Mt. Fuji, the temple was moved to its present location, and subsequently rebuilt in 1807. The temple’s main enshrined icons are the wooden statues of the Amida Triad, while the ancient principal images of Dainichi Nyorai and Fudo Myo-o are also enshrined there. Since the designation of the Oshino Hakkai Springs as one of the component assets of the Mount Fuji World Heritage listing in 2013, the temple has become a popular destination attracting a vast number of visitors and Buddhist practitioners from both Japan and abroad.