Daikōji/大光寺 / The Wolf Temple-Shrine (Patreon)

I wanted to share some photos from the Wolf Shrine/Temple. Yes, it's both! I'm not sure exactly how, but it survived the separation of Shinto and Buddhism and is one of the very few combined shrine-temples I've seen in Japan. 

The temple is called Daikoji and it's located on the top of Haruno Mountain. It was founded in 718. There are lots of legends and myths about a tengu (named Taihakubo) who lived in these mountains and visited this temple/shrine. 

Originally, it was a Shugendo Sect of Buddhism that practiced here. But over time it changed to Soto Zen. It's said the wolf was worshipped here as a god that chewed up evil things, who warded off demons, helped with fertility, helped with easy childbirth, and helped prevent fires. 

In another place I read the tengu's followers were the wolves and he would send out to help worshipers fulfill their prayers. 

Anyway, it was about a two and a half hour drive from my house, but about an hour of that was narrow, windy mountain roads. 

Here's a little of it. 

In the photo below you can see that most of the asphalt on the road has just washed away. 

Most of the way you have mountain on one side and a drop off on the other. Sometimes there was a guardrail, but not for most of it. And sometimes if you looked you could see where the guardrail just slid down the side of the mountain. 

Harrowing. 

My car is small so it wasn't so bad. As long as I don't have to pass anyone. And I didn't. NO ONE was on the mountain and from the state of the roads, hadn't been in quite awhile. Fallen rocks and gravel, branches. 

Below is the entrance. You drive through the torii gate. 

This is the path you walk to find the old temple. 

And here she is! See the two wolves guarding? 

Wolf. 

More wolf. 

More wolf.

There was a small almost falling down building that was used for travelers to stay the night. But it was closed up. There was also a place that sold ofuda. I really wanted to buy one, but there wasn't anyone anywhere. It was completely deserted. 

Got a shot through the window though. 

Another special part of the temple is a giant cedar tree believed to be over 1,300 years old. 

I guess you used to be able to go down and touch it, but they've since blocked it off. Which is a good thing. 

It's hard to tell how big it is by a photo. But see those tiny red/orange things low on the trunk?

They're little torii gates. This photo above is the one I took. The one below I yoinked from the internet. I'm not sure when it was taken, but there are only two little torii gates. 

Below is my photo again and it looks like someone added more torii gates!