Kinpô-zan / Kinbô-zan 金峰山

Mount Kinpô / Mt. Kinbô / Berg Kinpô

Kinpu-san is a volcanic mountain located a few kilometers west of Kumamoto City. Halfway up, behind the Zen temple Unganzen-ji, lies the cave Reigan-dô, where the samurai MIYAMOTO Musashi (1584-1645) retreated for contemplation and asceticism after countless battles, completed the book Gorin no Sho (“Book of Five Rings”) – which is still widely read today – and finally died. Along the path between the cave and temple, there are 500 rakan, gohyaku-rakan, figures, some of them grotesque, which probably date from the period between 1779 and 1803.