S P O T ／ SPOT-158

Sakozan Kaiko-ji Temple (Temple of Two Sokushinbutsu)

海向寺かいこうじ

Kaiko-ji, a Shingon Chisan sect temple said to have been founded by the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi), is the only temple in Japan known to enshrine two sokushinbutsu — monks who achieved self-mummification — within a single precinct. The monk Chukai entered nirvana in 1755 (Horeki 5) and Enmyokai in 1822 (Bunsei 5), each having completed a thousand-day austerity practice at Yudono-san's Senninzawa before entering final meditation. The sokushinbutsu were achieved through a progressive regime of fasting — the 'five-grain fast' followed by the 'ten-grain fast' — combined with the ingestion of lacquer sap to preserve the body from internal decay. Both figures remain enshrined in the temple's sokushindo hall and receive visitors. Special night-time veneration is permitted during the summer observance (yakai-shiki) from August 1 to 3.