Okunoin was opened as as cemetery in 835 and is the largest in Japan with over 200,000 graves and memorials. The path through the cemetery is about 2km in each direction. Some large Japanese corporations, including Panasonic, have memorials for former senior staff and staff killed in work accidents. It is common for a family to have a memorial at Koyasan as well as graves close to their home.
Okunoin’s most important and sacred site is the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi where followers believe he is in a state of eternal meditation rather than dead.
We visited during the day and also at night with a group led by a monk from our temple who recited prayers at the Kobo Daishi mausoleum. Among other anecdotes he told us that the monks had to take issue with Nintendo when players of Pokémon Go were searching for characters near the sacred mausoleum. Nintendo duly banished the offending monster !
Shilli-Fully Travels 