Koya-san is famous for three things: its concentrated
Buddhist community, the 110 active temples there, and its
vast graveyard.
We saw this group of monks and young students
on our way into the cemetery.
The cemetery is enormous.
So many tombs, graves, and statues. A monument to death. Maintenance
of tombs is the monks' primary source of income.
The types
grave markers and memorials varied greatly. One tomb we saw
was built by pesticide companies in Japan to alleviate their
guilt for insect genocide. Pagodas like the one at the right
lined many paths through the cemetery.
