Dainichibo Temple – Sanctuary of Devotion and Resilience

Founded in 807 by Kobo Daishi, Dainichibo Temple emerged as a place of worship for women when Mount Yudono itself was closed to female pilgrims. It enshrined Yudonosan Daigongen and 88,000 Buddhas as a substitute site of devotion. Over time, it became one of the four temples jointly administering Mount Yudono.

The temple shares deep historical ties with the Tokugawa shogunate. In the early 17th century, Kasuga no Tsubone prayed here for the health and succession of Tokugawa Iemitsu, contributing to Dainichibo’s designation as an official prayer temple of the shogunal family. Offerings from the Tokugawa court, including a statue of Kongokai Dainichi Nyorai, remain part of its legacy.

Its Niomon Gate, dating to the Kamakura period, is considered the oldest surviving eight-pillared gate of its type in Japan. Within its precincts are preserved significant cultural treasures, including a sokushinbutsu (self-mummified monk), monumental Hokyointo stupas of exceptional scale, Japan’s largest Koshinto stone monument, and the sacred 1,800-year-old “Odan no Sugi” cedar tree.

Though confiscated and largely destroyed during the Meiji-era separation of Shinto and Buddhism, and later struck by landslides, Dainichibo was relocated in 1936 and continues its religious lineage.

While Mount Yudono is now administered under Shinto governance, Dainichibo preserves the Buddhist tradition, opening its hidden principal icon to the public once every six years and maintaining an unbroken spiritual succession now reaching its 95th chief priest.

Today, Mount Yudono and Dainichibo remain living testaments to over twelve centuries of syncretic faith, ascetic practice, and enduring devotion.

Shinnyokai-shonin, sokushinbutsu of Dainichibo Temple

Shinnyokai Shonin was born in Ecchuyama, in present-day Asahi Village. From an early age he was known for his purity of character and was deeply drawn to Buddhist teachings. Entering the religious life in his youth, he devoted himself entirely to the Buddhist path. In response to what he perceived as the injustices of a world governed by inequality, he vowed to transform society into a realm of Buddhist peace and compassion. Centering his faith on Yudonosan Daigongen and Dainichibo Temple as his base of activity, he worked to propagate the teachings, establish temples, and engage in acts of charity and social welfare. Revered for his virtue, he came to be regarded during his lifetime as a “living Buddha.”

Having undertaken the vow of issei gyōnin (a lifetime ascetic practitioner), he pursued severe disciplines for more than seventy years before entering nyūjō—ritual entombment while still alive—thus becoming one of Japan’s most renowned sokushinbutsu (self-mummified monks).

Unlike artificially produced mummies, which are preserved through the removal of organs and chemical treatment after death, a sokushinbutsu results from prolonged ascetic practice. Through extreme disciplines, including the mokujiki (tree-eating) diet, the practitioner eliminates bodily fat and moisture, preventing decay and insect infestation. After entering meditation in burial, the body is exhumed approximately one thousand days later. The incorrupt body is understood as the enduring vessel of an enlightened spirit, embodying the ideal of becoming a Daijukubosatsu—a bodhisattva who bears the suffering of others.

Following the doctrine of sokushin jōbutsu (attaining Buddhahood in this very body) as taught by Kobo Daishi, Shinnyokai Shonin undertook ascetic training on Mount Yudono from around the age of twenty. After more than seventy years of practice, cultivating purity in body, speech, and mind while extending compassion to others, he entered ritual entombment in 1783, at the age of ninety-six, during the Tenmei Great Famine. Exhumed after one thousand days, his body was found preserved in its meditative posture. Today he is venerated as a Daijukubosatsu, continuing to offer prayers for the salvation of all beings.