Mirokudo Hall
This Buddha hall was built as the final resting place of Tamayori Gozen, the mother of the priest Kukai (known posthumously as Kobo Daishi; 774–835). Enshrined inside is a remarkable wooden statue of the Miroku Bosatsu (the Buddha of the Future), a designated National Treasure.
The hall is built in the tented-roof style with a thick roof of cypress bark. While the style dates back to the Heian period (794–1185), the construction of the interior balustrades dates from the middle of the later Kamakura period (1185–1333). The building was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1965.
The hall is particularly popular with female worshippers, who come to ask for divine help from Kukai’s beloved mother, who attained Buddhahood after her death. After the custom of leaving behind a breast-shaped offering or prayer plaque (ema) was described in The River Ki, a book by Wakayama-born author Sawako Ariyoshi, those coming to pray revived the practice.