Kurama-dera Temple

Kurama-dera was established in 770 CE by the monk Gantei, who followed a vision to this mountain north of Kyoto. For over a millennium it served as a Tendai temple guarding the capital's spiritual frontier. In 1949, it became independent as the headquarters of Kurama-kokyo, a syncretic sect teaching the veneration of the cosmic Sonten trinity. The mountain's legends, from Tengu warrior training to Reiki's birth, have made it one of Japan's most spiritually charged sites.

The Chinese monk Jianzhen, known in Japan as Ganjin, had founded Toshodai-ji in Nara and trained disciples in the Buddhist teachings. After his death, he appeared in a dream to his disciple Gantei, instructing him to travel north of the new capital and seek a mountain that radiated divine light.

Gantei followed a white horse into Kurama Valley. There, in vision, he encountered Bishamonten, the guardian of the north. He established Kurama-dera at that spot in 770 CE, creating a temple to protect the recently founded capital from the spiritual dangers emanating from the northern direction.

But the mountain already held power. According to Kurama-kokyo teaching, 6.5 million years ago, long before any human settlement, Mao-son descended from Venus via meteorite. This cosmic being, appearing with a long beard, great nose, wings, and a halo of leaves, came to guide humanity's spiritual evolution. The Tengu who inhabit the mountain proceed from this primordial deity. His meteorite remains are enshrined at Okunoin Mao-den near the summit.

The legend of Yoshitsune adds another layer. After the Heiji Rebellion of 1160, the infant son of the defeated Minamoto clan was sent to Kurama-dera by the victorious Taira clan to become a harmless monk. Named Ushiwakamaru, the boy was raised at the temple from age 7 to 16. But he did not become a monk. Each night, he slipped away to Sojo-gatani valley, where Sojōbō, king of all Tengu, trained him in swordsmanship, tactics, and supernatural techniques. He left the mountain to join his brother's rebellion and became Japan's greatest military commander.

In March 1922, Mikao Usui climbed Kurama seeking enlightenment. He fasted and meditated for 21 days at Osugi Gongen, beneath a sacred tree said to incarnate Mao-son. Near the end of this retreat, he experienced profound spiritual transmission, receiving the ability to channel universal life force energy. One month later, he founded the Usui Reiki Healing Method Society in Tokyo.