Catching up

I missed Temples 44 and 45 this weekend due to not having a reliable way home.

So I woke up and caught the bus up into the mountains. Temple 44 – Daihōji was not too bad of a walk to get to. Once I got out of town, I was surrounded by old growth forest, where the sun didn’t reach the ground in many places.

A priest from Korea placed a statue up on this mountain in 701, and some hunters found it. They then started this temple. The main gate is made up of huge straw sandals and is remade ever 100 years.

These dolls were at every house I walked by to get to the temple.

Trying to find the next bus stop was difficult, only one not on Google. So I went to a cab company and just had them take me to Temple 45 – Iwayaji. This was one of the highest ones I have been to. It felt like I walked a mile and a half up in a zigzag. Definitely one of the hardest to get to as most had roads or gondolas to get to them, but this one did not.

Kūkai was told about this place by a woman recluse. It is considered a “nansho” a difficult place.