Henjoson-in

Henjoson-in is a long-established temple in the heart of Koyasan that, like many of its neighbours, opens its doors to overnight guests as a shukubo, giving travellers the opportunity to sleep, eat and pray within a functioning monastery. Its name evokes Henjo Kongo, the Buddhist ordination name of Kobo Daishi himself, tying the temple closely to the founder whose presence permeates the whole mountain.

Koyasan's identity as a place of lodging is inseparable from its identity as a pilgrimage destination. Ever since Kukai founded the monastic complex in the ninth century, the faithful have made their way up the mountain to worship at Okunoin and the Garan, and its temples have sheltered them. Henjoson-in stands in this centuries-old tradition, and a stay here connects the modern visitor to a lineage of pilgrims stretching back over a thousand years.

Guests are accommodated in tatami-matted rooms with sliding paper screens and futon bedding, in the simple, calming style typical of the mountain's temples. Meals follow the shojin ryori tradition, the refined vegetarian cuisine developed by Buddhist monks, which forgoes meat, fish and pungent vegetables in favour of seasonal produce, tofu preparations and delicately seasoned mountain fare. Sharing such a meal, eaten mindfully, is itself part of the monastic experience.

The temple offers guests the chance to observe or join its morning devotions, when monks gather in the main hall to chant sutras as the day begins, and it is known for introducing visitors to Ajikan meditation, the visualisation practice central to Shingon Buddhism in which the practitioner contemplates the Sanskrit letter A as a gateway to understanding the nature of reality. For many travellers this gentle initiation into esoteric practice is a highlight of their time on the mountain.

Henjoson-in's central location near Senjuinbashi places it within comfortable walking distance of Koyasan's principal sights, including Kongobuji, the Danjo Garan and the treasures of the Reihokan museum, while the buses to Okunoin and the cable-car station are close at hand. This makes it a practical as well as an atmospheric base for exploring.

As with all of Koyasan's lodging temples, a stay at Henjoson-in asks guests to move to the temple's rhythm, with early dinners, early mornings and an atmosphere of quiet respect. Those who embrace it find that the reward is considerable: a night spent within the walls of a mountain monastery, waking to incense and chanting, offers an intimacy with Japanese Buddhist life that no day trip can match, and leaves visitors with a lasting sense of the devotion that made Koyasan one of the holiest places in Japan.