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Shimyōin Temple (Kinkōhō-ji)

志明院(金光峯寺)

North (Rakuhoku)|雲ヶ畑

A mountain temple deep in Kumogahata, at the uppermost reaches of the Kamo River. By temple tradition it was founded by the ascetic En no Gyōja in 650 and restored by Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) in 829 on the order of Emperor Junna, later receiving the temple name ‘Shimyōin’ on a plaque granted by the emperor (by tradition; accounts vary). The cave of its inner sanctuary, the Konponchuin, is held to be a wellspring of the Kamo, and there an All-Seeing Fudōmyō-ō said to be carved by Sugawara no Michizane is enshrined; within the precincts is the Goma Cave where, by legend, the priest Narukami of the kabuki play imprisoned a dragon.

Stones nearby

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.