Although I’m currently only halfway through chemotherapy, I’ve already started planning my 100 Summits climbs. The hyakumeizan are scattered across all four of Japan’s major islands, meaning each mountain presents not only a physical challenge but a logistical one as well.
Read moreKoyasan
Stepping Back in Time at Ekoin
Today, I’m guest posting at Murder is Everywhere – and I hope you’ll click over and join me for a virtual night at Ekoin, a thousand year-old temple on Japan’s sacred Mount Kōya. It’s one of my favorite places in Japan, and I hope you like it too! Stepping Back a Thousand Years: A Night at Ekoin
Read moreKōyasan: The Heart of Shingon Buddhism in Japan
Yesterday, I returned to the summit of Kōyasan (Mount Kōya), one of Japan’s many sacred places (and the setting for my sixth Hiro Hattori Mystery, Trial on Mount Koya).
Read moreKobo Daishi – the Founder of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan
Like many of the world’s great religions, Buddhism has many sects. The Shingon or “True Word” school of Buddhism arose in Japan largely due to the efforts of a monk named Kūkai (774-835) – posthumously known as Kōbō Daishi.
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