Kurama-dera Temple

Kurama-dera, located in Kuramahonmachi, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, is the head temple of the Kurama-Kokyo school. The honzon is the Sonten, a triune deity composed of the thousand-armed Kannon, Bishamonten, and Goho Maoson. The temple stands at about 569 m elevation on the slope of Mt. Kurama and is associated with the youthful training of Minamoto no Yoshitsune as Shanao. The place name Kurama also appears in the Konjaku Monogatari-shu. Tradition attributes the founding to 770 by Gantei, a disciple of Ganjin, who enshrined Bishamonten, with Fujiwara no Iseto adding the thousand-armed Kannon and completing the halls in 796. Long affiliated with the Tendai school, the temple became independent as the Kurama-Kokyo school in 1947 under Shigaraki Koun. National Treasures include a Heian Bishamonten triad. The local Yuki Shrine enshrines Onamuchi-no-Mikoto and Sukunabikona-no-Mikoto, recorded in the Kojiki as the kami who built the land. The Kurama Fire Festival on October 22 is one of the three unusual festivals of Kyoto.