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Many foreign visitors to Japan have told me that if you've seen one temple then you've seen them all.
There may be an element of truth in this but Japanese temples are very often things of beauty and well worth the visit.
Particularly if you know where to look! Kokokuji temple is tucked away in a quiet corner of Wakayama prefecture and though well off the beaten track, it is famous in it's own right.
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How do you tell a Buddhist temple from a Shinto shrine? Well, the gate is a dead giveaway.
Temples always have a gate similar to the one pictured above. After climbing the up the slope, there is another gate
at the entrance to the temple proper.
And a shrine? Well, you can always tell if you are at a Shinto shrine
because the gate looks like this.
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One of the beauties of visiting a temple such as this is that unlike more 'famous' temples such as Kyoto's
Kinkakuji or Byodouin in Nara, you might very well have the place to yourself. No throngs of tourists to mess up the photos! |
| As for the history of Kokokuji, the temple was founded in 1227. It was mostly destroyed
in a civil war in 1585, being rebuilt shortly thereafter.
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Kokokuji's greatest claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Japanese shouyu,
better known to most people as soy sauce. The recipe was brought back from China by a Kokokuji monk.
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If you are looking for a little peace and tranquility, you could do far worse than come to Kokokuji. The car parking is free too!
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