Mount Hiei

Lore & Background

Mount Hiei has been featured in many folk tales over the ages. Initially, it was thought to be the home of indigenous gods and spirits, and there was a shrine to Oyamakui no Kami, also known in the shinbutsu-shūgō system as Sannō Gongen. However, it is now predominantly known for the monks of Enryaku-ji. Later schools of Buddhism in Japan were almost entirely founded by ex-monks of the Tendai sect, such as Hōnen, Nichiren, Dōgen and Shinran, who all studied at the temple before leaving Mount Hiei to start their own practices. The temple complex spreads out over the mountain, concentrated in three areas: the Saitō area near the summit (technically in Kyoto Prefecture), the Tōdō area also near the summit where Enryaku-ji was first founded (located just within Shiga Prefecture), and the Yokawa area near the northernmost end of Mount Hiei. Due to its remoteness, Yokawa experienced periods of revival and decline, starting with Ennin, later revived by Ryōgen and made famous by the scholar-monk Genshin.

In Their Own Story

John Stevens wrote the book The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei, chronicling the practice of walking long distances – up to 52 miles (84 km) a day for 100 straight days, in an effort to attain enlightenment. The practice of walking is known as the kaihōgyō. A 2010 US National Public Radio report described the sennichi kaihōgyō (thousand-day kaihōgyō) as '1,000 days of walking meditation and prayer over a seven-year period around Mount Hiei. [The 13th disciple since WWII to complete the cycle] walked 26 miles a day for periods of either 100 or 200 consecutive days — a total distance about the same as walking around the Earth.'

Reader's Guide

The mountain is a popular area for hikers and a toll road provides access by automobile to the top of the mountain; there are also buses that connect the mountaintop to town a few times a day. There are two routes of funiculars: the Eizan Cable from the Kyoto side to the connecting point with an aerial tramway ('ropeway') to the top, and the Sakamoto Cable from the Shiga side to the foot of Enryaku-ji. The attractions on the mountain are quite spread out, so there are regular buses during the daytime connecting the attractions. The center for these is the bus center, in front of the entrance to the main temple complex at Tō-tō ('East Pagoda'). Unusually, there are also a number of French-themed attractions – the peak itself features the Garden Museum Hiei, which is themed on French impressionism, featuring gardens and French paintings, while there is also a French-themed hotel, 'L'hotel de Hiei' (The Hiei Hotel). The mountain is busiest during the daytime, but has some visitors in the evenings, for light-up displays and to see the night view of the surrounding towns.

Did You Know?

• Mount Hiei was thought in ancient geomancy to be a protective bulwark against negative influences on the capital of Heian-kyō (Kyoto).
• The temple complex was razed by Oda Nobunaga in 1571 to quell the rising power of Tendai's sōhei (warrior monks).
• Later schools of Buddhism in Japan were almost entirely founded by ex-monks of the Tendai sect, such as Hōnen, Nichiren, Dōgen and Shinran, who all studied at the temple before leaving Mount Hiei.
• The 19th-century Japanese ironclad Hiei and the more famous World War II-era battleship Hiei were named after this mountain.
• The sennichi kaihōgyō (thousand-day kaihōgyō) involves walking 26 miles a day for periods of either 100 or 200 consecutive days over seven years, a total distance about the same as walking around the Earth.