Mount Kurama and Kuramadera

Kyoto day 3, in which we get out of town...

We rode the subway out of town, then a cute little train towards the mountains. From there, we hiked up and over Mount Kurama, visiting Kuramadera Temple.

It's a beautiful area, nice hike, good temple. Besides the quiet and calm, a nice change of pace after the craziness of these busy cities, the temple has an interesting historical connection. Yes, of course.

Short version... Minamoto no Yoshitune was the son of an important noble who was killed during the wars marking the end of the Heian Period. Yoshitune was sent to live with the monks on the mountain here, where he trained to be a warrior. Long story short, he became a great warrior and on with his older half brother Yoritomo, defeated the Taira clan who had killed their father. Yoshitune was the one in the field who had done the heavy lifting, and as such was wildly popular. His half brother didn't like this much, and they fell out, resulting in Yoshitune eventually being forced to kill himself. He's viewed as a tragic hero in Japan, and there are many legends about him.

The temple itself was established in 770 by the monk Gatei, who came to the mountain following a vision.

Despite the signs warning about bears, didn't see any.Read more