Like the Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei-zan, the Kurama-dera temple, founded at the end of the 8th century, served to protect the imperial city of Heian-kyô, today’s Kyôto. The original complex, which belonged to the Tendai school and was built halfway up the 570 m high Kurama-san mountain, was more extensive at the time, but repeatedly fell victim to fires. In the 12th century, the young Minamoto Yoshitsune sought out the secluded valley of Kurama as a refuge from his older brother, who was trying to kill him. The surrounding mystical mountain landscape can be viewed from the forecourt of the temple.
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