[Yatadera Temple] Kongosan Temple

Kongo-san Temple is a temple of the Koyasan Shingon sect located in Yata-cho, Yamatokoriyama City, Nara Prefecture, and is commonly known as "Yatadera." The main image is Jizo Bodhisattva, and its official name is Kongo-san Temple. According to temple legend, Prince Oama (later Emperor Tenmu) climbed Mount Yata to pray for victory during the Jinshin War, and after his accession to the throne, in the 5th year of Emperor Tenmu's reign (676), Chitsu founded the temple at imperial request, built 48 halls and seven temples, and enshrined the Eleven-Headed Kannon Bodhisattva and Kisshoten.  Yatadera is also known as the "Hydrangea Temple," and there are about 10,000 hydrangeas of about 60 varieties planted in the temple grounds, attracting many worshippers in early summer.  Note that Kongo-san Yata-dera Temple, located in Teramachi-dori Sanjo, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City, is currently a different sect, but according to temple legend, it was opened as a branch temple of this temple in the early Nara period.  For more information about Kongo-san Temple (Yata-dera Temple), it is a temple of the Koyasan Shingon sect located in Yata-cho, Yamatokoriyama City, Nara Prefecture, and its principal image is Jizo Bodhisattva. Its official name is Kongo-san Temple, and it is also known as the "Hydrangea Temple." #0 Yen Travel January 2025