Monks and pilgrims in Japan's mountain temples

Buddhism arrived in Japan more than fourteen centuries ago, and some of its most important centres were built deliberately far from the cities, on mountains where monks could train away from worldly distraction.

Kōyasan (Mount Kōya), south of Osaka, is one of the best known. It was founded in the early 9th century by the monk Kūkai, also known as Kōbō Daishi, as the headquarters of the Shingon school of Buddhism, and it remains an active monastic town with dozens of temples, many of which take in overnight pilgrims. Its forest paths, lined with stone lanterns and memorials under tall cedars, are often wrapped in mist.

The first photograph shows the quiet discipline of temple life: a monk with an umbrella crossing a snowy temple yard, dark robes against white ground. The second walks along one of those misty paths at Kōyasan.

The final frames turn to the objects pilgrims pass on their way: a stone Buddha slowly covered by moss, and coils of incense hanging inside a temple, burning for hours as an offering.

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Photos: yamabon, deltaworks, michoff on Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. These are not my photographs.