Ōwakudani
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Ōwakudani is a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot springs in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was created around 3,000 years ago, as a result of the explosion of the Hakone volcan
Ōwakudani as seen from the Hakone Ropeway
Kuro-tamago hard-boiled eggs
Owakudani sculpture
Kūkai
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Kūkai, born Saeki no Mao posthumously called Kōbō Daishi, was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the esoteric Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he stud
Ōwakudani
…egg shells turn black and give off a slightly sulfuric odour; eating one is said to add seven years to your life. Upon seeing the hellish scenery, when Kōbō Daishi visited Owakudani more than a thousand years ago, he offered prayer to Bodhisattva. The Enmei-jizō in Owakudani is said to have its origin in the prayer…
Painting of Kūkai from the Shingon Hassozō, a set of scrolls depicting the first eight patriarchs of the Shingon school. Japan, Kamakura period (13th–14th centuries).
Kamakura-period statue of Thousand-armed Kannon at Sanjūsangen-dō in Kyoto, Japan.
Painting of Kūkai as a boy, posthumously known by the title Chigo Daishi ("The Child Grand Master"). It depicts the young Kūkai flying to heaven on a lotus, where he converses with various Buddhas. Muromachi Period, 15th century.
Wood statue of Kūkai