Daisho-in

Daisho-in is the head Shingon temple on Miyajima, founded by tradition in 806 by Kobo Daishi, and it sits on the slope of Misen above Itsukushima Shrine - which most visitors never reach, because they photograph the torii and take the ferry back. The main stair has a row of metal prayer wheels along its handrail, turned as you climb. Around the compound are about five hundred rakan figures, small stone arhats each with a different expression, many wearing knitted caps left by visitors. The Henjokutsu cave below the main hall holds the principal icons of all eighty-eight temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage, lit by hanging lanterns, so that walking through it is treated as equivalent to completing the circuit. There is also a sand mandala made by visiting Tibetan monks and a hall of ten thousand small statues.

History

By tradition the monk Kūkai, known after his death as Kōbō Daishi, founded the temple in 806, which makes it the oldest temple on Itsukushima. By imperial order of Emperor Toba it became a place to pray for the peace of the nation, and until the Meiji government separated Shinto from Buddhism in 1868 it administered Itsukushima Shrine. Emperor Meiji stayed here on 31 July 1885 during his visit to the shrine, and the trail up Mount Misen was repaired in 1905 with a donation from Itō Hirobumi. A typhoon on 27 September 1991 did heavy damage, repaired by 1998, and the 14th Dalai Lama came for the temple's 1,200th anniversary in November 2006. On 20 May 2026 a fire brought down the Reikado, the hall of a flame said to have burned since the temple's founding; the temple said it had saved the flame and would rebuild the hall (Wikipedia, Daishō-in).

Highlights

• Prayer wheels on the stair - a handrail of turning metal cylinders up the approach.
• Five hundred rakan - stone arhats with individual faces, many in knitted caps.
• The Henjokutsu cave - lantern-lit, holding the icons of all eighty-eight Shikoku temples.
• A quiet compound - largely missed by visitors who stop at the torii below.

When to go

Late November for maples; all year otherwise. Two hours.

Good to know

The approach is a steady climb with many steps. Deer on Miyajima take food and paper from bags. Ferry queues in season are long. The temple is a working Shingon site, not a museum.

Nearby

Itsukushima Shrine is below; Mount Misen's trails start here.

Key facts