Mayasan Tenjoji Temple

Introduction

Mt Maya takes its name from this temple. Tradition holds that in 646 Emperor Kotoku ordered the Indian monk Hodo to found it, and Kukai later brought back from Tang China an image of Maya, the Buddha's mother, making this the only Japanese temple centred on her cult and a place to pray for children and safe delivery: the maternity sash worn by expectant mothers traces back to the 'bell cord' cloth once taken from before the Maya hall. The principal image is a secret eleven-faced Kannon barely six centimetres tall, said to have been carved by the Buddha himself and brought by Hodo, opened to view only once every 33 years; ships once lowered sail before it, earning the name 'sail-lowering Kannon'. A 1976 arson fire destroyed almost the whole complex, and the temple was rebuilt a kilometre north on Maya Betsuzan: the present main hall dates to 1985, the Maya hall to 2002, the great sky stage to 2005, with two dry gardens by landscape historian Nishi Katsura. The old site keeps its guardian gate, stone walls and steps as the Maya Historical Park. The temple is the tenth of the 25 Kansai flower temples, with yamaboushi turning whole trees white in mid to late June and hundreds of chestnut tiger butterflies coming to the fujibakama in October. Entry is free, 09:00-17:00; take city bus 18 from Sannomiya, then the Maya cable and ropeway to Hoshi-no-Eki and walk ten minutes through the trees. The million-dollar night view belongs to Kikuseidai beside the cable station, a separate stop from the temple.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info