Today we got lost on a mountain road but ended up at a beautiful temple I've always wanted to visit. Katsuō-ji (勝尾寺) in northern Ōsaka Prefecture is primarily associated with the Shingon sect, and might go back to Kūkai or earlier, but it also incorporates Daruma (Bodhidharma, who transmitted meditation practices from India to China that in Japan became Zen Buddhism). Yet it is more like folk religion in Japan when people pray to Daruma to achieve their goals. As a testament, innumerable Daruma dolls have been left to decorate Katsuō-ji. The temple is photogenic and, untypical of Japanese architecture that blends with nature, more flashy in colors that appeal to Asian and other tourists. Similarly, chanting of the Heart Sūtra and other Buddhist scriptures is amplified, so the experience is more exciting than contemplative. Having a Shintō shrine in the Buddhist temple, however, is a syncretic practice harking back to Kūkai.
City: Ena, Japan
Tourist attraction: Takenami Shrine
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