Fudo Myo & Nio: Mine-Ji

The third and final mountaintop temple we visited a few weeks ago up in Izumo was Mine-Ji, and the Nio were particularly impressive.

I had never seen any painted black with gilded eyes before. The temple was founded in the 7th Century and sits on a mountainside near Kisuki in the Okuizumo area.

 

While not as remote or as high as Kez0-Ji, reaching Mine-Ji involves a very steep, narrow, windy mountain road.

Contemporary yamabushi still perform rituals and undergo training here, and in the area set up for Shugendo rituals there was a small, eroded Fudo Myo.

 

Above the Niomon was a most effective relief of Fudo Myo, done in copper I believe.