Mt. Kinkō-ji 金光寺山

Official explanation

Mt. Kinkō-ji, on the northern end of Nakanoshima Island, commands excellent views of Dōzen’s northern coastlines. The mountain formed around six million years ago as a satellite cone of the huge stratovolcano that created the islands of Dōzen.

In 838, Mt. Kinkō-ji became the site of exile for Ono no Takamura (802–852), a noble in the imperial court during the Heian period (794–1185). Takamura was twice sent as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty in China, but both times he encountered trouble in the Sea of Japan and was forced to return. As he prepared for his third voyage, his ship was unexpectedly commissioned by one of his superiors, and Takamura became so frustrated that he faked an illness to avoid being dispatched again. The emperor suspected Takamura of sabotaging the crossings in an effort to avoid traveling to China, and he sentenced him to two years of exile in the Oki Islands. While on Mt. Kinkō-ji, Takamura wrote what would become the eleventh poem in the celebrated poetry collection Hyakunin isshu, meaning “one hundred poets, one poem each.” After a year and two months on Nakanoshima, Ono no Takamura was recalled to the court, purportedly because the emperor missed his literary talents.

Read the full explanation

Kinkō-ji Temple, at the mountain’s summit, is dedicated to the Cosmic Buddha, Dainichi Nyorai. The spring in front is guarded by a statue of the fierce, sword-wielding Mizukake Fudō Myō-ō, who local children are told will come for them if they misbehave. The spring’s water is said to be effective in curing skin diseases and neuralgia.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.