Kimpusen-ji
Introduction  is the head temple of a branch of the Shugendō religion called Kinpusen-Shugendō in Yoshino district, Nara Prefecture, Japan. According to tradition, it was founded by En no Gyōja, who propagated a form of mountain asceticism drawing from Shinto and  Buddhist beliefs. Along with Ōminesan-ji Temple, it is considered the most important temple in Shugendō.The temple's main building, the "Zaō-Hall" (''Zaōdō'') dedicated to Zaō gongen (蔵王権現), is the second largest wooden structure in Japan after the Great Buddha Hall at Tōdai-ji in Nara. Kinpusen-ji is a junction in a series of stops on pilgrimage routes.A Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari Ōkami is attached to the main compound. In 1963, the Temple constructed a hall named Southern Court Mystic Law Hall (''Nanchō Myōhōden'') to appease the soul of the four emperors of the Southern Court and others who lost their lives in many battles since the "Northern and Southern Courts period" (Nanboku-chō period, 1336–1392). The principal image is the statue of Gautama Buddha (''Shaka Nyōrai'').In 2004, it was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name ''Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range''.
Images File:Kinpusenji niomon2.jpg|Gate with guardiansFile:Kinpusenji nio2.jpg|Statue of the wrath-filled and muscular guardian NioFile:Kinpusenji zaodo1.jpg|Zaōdō (Deity: Zaō gongen, "Avatar Zaō")File:Kinpusenji zaodo2.jpg|entrance of Zaōdō File:Zao-Gongen-Kimpusen-Temple-Yoshino.jpg|one of the three Zaō-gongen statues in the ZaōdōFile:Kinpusenji zaodo3.jpg|carvingsFile:Kinpusenji Yoshino Nara08n4272.jpg|Bell tower (Shorō)File:Kinpusenji Yoshino Nara04n4272.jpg|Aizendō (deity: Aizen myōō, Sanskr. Rāgarāja) File:Kinpusenji Yoshino Nara03n4272.jpg|Kannondō (deity: Kannon bosatsu,  "Bodhisattva Guanyin")File:Kinpusenji Yoshino Nara06n3200.jpg|Itoku TenmanguFile:Kinpusenji Inari1.jpg|Attached Inari shrine (Deity: Hisatomi Daimyōjin)File:Kinpusenji Inari3.jpg|Inari shrineFile:Kinpusenji nanchomyohoden1.jpg|Nanchō myōhō-denFile:En no gyoja-Kimpusen-ji.JPG|Statue of En no Gyōja near the Nanchō myōhō-den
See also *Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range*Shugendō*List of National Treasures of Japan (temples)*Tourism in Japan
References
External links * Official website* Live camera, Kimpusen-ji, Zaōdō