Konjoin Temple

Konjoin is one of four surviving temple buildings at Yamadera, where twelve structures once lined the slopes of Mt. Hoju for monks to live and train. The current building dates to 1840, and its altar centers on a Jizo statue flanked by two attendant figures: Shoaku on the left holding a vajra symbolizing triumph over worldly desire, and Shozen on the right carrying a white lotus leaf representing purity. Along the altar walls, rows of smaller Jizo figures called Sentai Jizo watch over the forgotten departed. Faint marks halfway up the exterior posts record the waterline from a catastrophic 1910 flood.