Kozan-ji Temple

Kozan-ji, bearing the mountain name Hojuzan, is a temple of the Shingon Buzan sect in Ogawa Village, Nagano Prefecture. Founded in 808 (Daido 3), it is said that Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, the great general, built an observation hall here for a prayer of victory and enshrined a Sho-Kannon statue said to have been carved by Kobo Daishi himself. In 1195, Minamoto no Yoritomo donated a three-storied pagoda to the temple. The present pagoda, rebuilt in 1698, was designated a Nagano Prefectural Treasure in 1985. The temple also serves as the 33rd and final site on the Shinano Thirty-three Kannon Pilgrimage.