Negoro-ji Temple
Negoro-ji Temple
4.5
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles75 reviews
Excellent
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Very good
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japanfan2016
Fukuoka, Japan43 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2017 • Friends
If you have been to Koya-san, one of the most prominent centers of Shingon Buddhism, you might be interested to pay a visit to the Negoro-Temple (Negoro-ji) surrounded by the peaks of the Katsuragi Mountains at the northern end of the city of Iwade, Wakayama Prefecture.
The temple was founded in 1087 by the legendary ascetic En no Gyōja, but in 1132, the ex-Emperor Toba donated it to the famous high priest Kakuban (Kogyo-Daishi). Kakuban had tried to renew and restore the life and practice of the Koyasan, but after heavy fighting he was forced to leave. He moved to the Negoro-Temple and initiated a reformed school of Shingon Buddhism. The temple grew into a small city. During the late Muromachi period, there were about 2700 buildings
In 1585 the vast complex (except the main pagoda and a few minor building) were burnt down during the siege of the temple by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He feared the growing military power of the temple with its warrior monks (the Jeusits compared them the the Templars in Europe).
In 1623, the head of the Kii branch of the Tokugawa family, Tokugawa Yorinobu, initiated the reconstruction of a couple of buildings. But the temple never again gained ist former size. That is why there is a lot of space between the great portal (Daimon) and the central parts. The Pagoda (1496) is a National Treasure. The main hall (Dai Demp ō-dō) houses impressive statues of Kongō-Satta (skr. Vajrasattva), Dainichi-Nyorai (skr. Maha-Vairocana) and Butchō-Sonshō (skr. Vijayosnisa). Nearby lies the mausoleum of Kakuban.
Nearby there is the Iwade Municipal Museum of Folk Materials (Iwadeshi minzoku shiry ōkan) with a nice exhibition of utensils coated with red lacquer called Negoro-nuri. Red lacquer is applied over an undercoat of black lacquer and then partially removed by Suruga-zumi (charcoal) exposing the black lacquer coating underneath in various places.
Written March 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jacqui M
Osaka, Japan81 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2013 • Family
This is a gem of a place off the beaten track but really surprisingly easy to access by car. It's a huge temple complex and grounds with a small creek running through it. There are several thousand trees many of them cherry blossoms so it would look spectacular in spring. Right now I am looking forward to seeing the leaves changing next month (November I would guess would be a good time). The temple buildings and gardens are immaculate.
It has a large free car park. Toilets. Possibly a souvenir shop though it was closed on Saturday. Right now they are doing some renovations so some areas were closed. Still it was peaceful to stroll around the tree-lined paths. A few people had bento lunches on the park benches.
It's free to walk around. If you want to get closer to the temple there is a nominal fee of perhaps about 500 yen.
Written October 8, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Negoro-ji Temple, Iwade

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