Saijoji Temple: Where a Warrior Monk Became a Tengu to Guard the Mountain Forever
Published: March 27, 2026
In the forested hills of western Kanagawa, where the Hakone mountains begin their rise toward the sky and the last commuter towns give way to cedar groves, there is a temple that most Tokyo residents have heard of but surprisingly few have visited. Daiyuzan Saijoji, the Great Mountain Saijoji Temple, is one of the largest and most impressive Soto Zen temple complexes in eastern Japan. Its grounds cover an enormous forested mountainside, its approach road is lined with towering cedar trees centuries old, and its buildings range from modest forest hermitages to elaborate worship halls connected by covered walkways and stone staircases. But what makes Saijoji truly distinctive, what separates it from every other Zen temple in the Kanto region, is the tengu.
According to temple tradition, a monk named Doryo Daisatta, a man of prodigious spiritual and physical abilities, helped establish the temple in the late fourteenth century during the early Muromachi period. When the construction was complete, Doryo declared that he would devote himself to the eternal protection of the temple and the mountain. He then transformed himself into a tengu and rose into the sky, assuming the form of a fierce mountain demon to guard Saijoji for all time. The temple has honored this transformation ever since, and the evidence is everywhere: in the tengu statues that guard the staircases, in the paintings and carvings that decorate the halls, and above all in the extraordinary collection of giant wooden geta, the traditional Japanese clogs, that worshippers have donated over the centuries as offerings to the tengu guardian.
This guide will take you through the history, legends, and remarkable sights of Saijoji Temple, one of the most atmospheric and undervisited sacred sites within easy reach of Tokyo.
The Yokai Connection
The tenguof Saijoji is unique among Japanese tengu traditions because it is not a story of a human encountering a tengu or being taught by a tengu. It is a story of a human choosing to become one. Doryo Daisatta, the temple's legendary co-founder, did not meet a tengu on the mountain. He became the tengu of the mountain through an act of deliberate spiritual transformation, sacrificing his human form to serve as the eternal guardian of the temple and its community.
This narrative reflects a deep understanding of the tengu within the Japanese religious tradition. While popular folklore often portrays tengu as tricksters or antagonists, the Saijoji tradition presents the tengu as the ultimate expression of spiritual commitment: a being who has transcended the limitations of human existence in order to protect something greater than himself. Doryo's transformation is not depicted as a curse or a punishment. It is an apotheosis, a final step on the spiritual path that carries the practitioner beyond humanity itself. The tengu, in this understanding, is not a demon to be feared but a bodhisattva of the mountains, a being who delays his own liberation in order to serve others.
The most visible symbol of the Doryo tengu tradition at Saijoji is the geta, the traditional Japanese wooden clogs. Tengu are traditionally depicted wearing tall single-toothed geta called ippon-geta or tengu-geta, which allow them to maintain their balance on the steep mountain terrain where they dwell. At Saijoji, worshippers donate pairs of geta to the temple as offerings to Doryo, praying for protection, good health, and sure-footedness in life. Over the centuries, this practice has produced one of the most unusual collections of religious offerings in Japan: hundreds of geta of all sizes, from normal footwear to enormous ceremonial pairs several meters tall, displayed throughout the temple grounds as testaments to the continuing power of the tengu guardian.
History
Saijoji was founded around 1394 CE during the early Muromachi period by the Soto Zen monk Ryoan Emyo, with the assistance of Doryo Daisatta. The Muromachi period (1336â1573) was an era of both cultural flourishing and political instability in Japan, a time when Zen Buddhism was exerting its greatest influence on Japanese culture, from the arts of ink painting and tea ceremony to architecture and garden design. The founding of a major Soto Zen temple during this period reflects both the spiritual vitality of the time and the practical need for religious institutions that could serve as centers of community stability in a politically fragmented era.
The temple is formally known as Daiyuzan Saijoji, with Daiyuzan (Great Hero Mountain) referring to the mountain on which it stands. The Soto school of Zen, to which the temple belongs, was founded by Dogen Zenji in the thirteenth century and emphasizes the practice of shikantaza, "just sitting," a form of meditation that seeks enlightenment through the simple act of sitting in awareness without pursuing any particular goal or experience. Saijoji maintains this Zen tradition alongside its distinctive tengu worship, creating a religious environment that blends the austere intellectualism of Zen with the vivid imagery and emotional directness of folk tengu belief.
The legend of Doryo's transformation is the defining narrative of the temple. Doryo is described in temple tradition as a figure of almost superhuman abilities, a monk who combined profound spiritual practice with extraordinary physical prowess. Some accounts describe him as having the strength of many men, the ability to leap great distances, and a mastery of the martial and mountain arts that placed him beyond the capabilities of ordinary humans. When he completed the temple and announced his intention to become its tengu guardian, the assembled monks reportedly witnessed his transformation and ascent into the sky, an event that established the template for the temple's unique identity as a place where Zen Buddhism and tengu belief coexist in a synthesis that is found nowhere else in Japan.
What to See
Saijoji's temple grounds are extensive, covering a large area of forested mountainside connected by paths, staircases, and covered corridors. A full exploration takes two to three hours and involves a moderate amount of walking and stair-climbing. The following are the essential sights.
The most iconic sight at Saijoji is the pair of enormous iron geta displayed at the Gosaiden, the hall dedicated to Doryo. These giant clogs are several meters tall and weigh several tons, their massive single-tooth construction echoing the ippon-geta traditionally worn by tengu. They are the largest of the many geta displayed throughout the temple grounds, and they serve as the focal point of the tengu worship tradition that defines Saijoji.
The geta are not merely decorative. They are religious objects, symbols of the tengu's supernatural ability to walk on any terrain, to maintain balance in any situation, and to move with a sureness and confidence that transcends human limitations. When worshippers donate geta to the temple, they are praying for the same qualities in their own lives: stability, sure-footedness, the ability to navigate life's difficult terrain without falling. Standing before the giant iron geta and looking up at their massive height is a powerful physical experience that communicates the scale of Doryo's power in a way that no written description can match.
The approach to Saijoji passes through one of the most magnificent cedar avenues in the Kanto region. The trees are centuries old, their massive trunks rising straight and true on either side of the path like the columns of a natural nave, their canopy meeting overhead to create a cathedral of green shade. The avenue extends for several hundred meters, and walking its length is one of the great experiences of temple visiting in Japan. The scale of the trees, the quality of the light, and the silence that the cedars impose on their surroundings create a transition zone between the ordinary world and the sacred space of the temple that is as effective as any ritual gate or purification font.
The cedars are protected as part of the temple's natural heritage, and the forest that surrounds Saijoji is home to a rich variety of wildlife, including Japanese giant flying squirrels, various species of woodpecker, and, in season, fireflies along the mountain streams. The integration of natural forest with religious architecture at Saijoji is among the finest examples in the region, creating a temple experience in which the built and natural environments support and enhance each other.
Throughout the temple grounds, you will encounter geta of all sizes, donated by worshippers as offerings to the tengu guardian Doryo. Some are normal-sized wooden clogs placed in neat rows. Others are massive constructions, several meters in height, crafted by devotees as acts of extraordinary dedication. The variety of geta on display, from simple everyday sandals to elaborately decorated ceremonial pairs, creates a folk-art gallery of devotional objects that is unique in Japan.
The tradition of donating geta is a living practice, and visitors are encouraged to participate. Small wooden geta can be purchased at the temple as ema (prayer boards), inscribed with a wish, and left at a designated area near the Gosaiden. The practice connects the mundane object of everyday footwear with the supernatural power of the tengu, transforming something ordinary into something sacred through the act of offering. It is one of the most accessible and satisfying ways for visitors to engage with the tengu tradition at Saijoji, and the resulting collection of hundreds of wooden clogs, hanging from walls and piled on shelves, weathered by mountain air, is one of the most striking visual encounters at the temple.
Location
Nearby Attractions
30 minutes by train
Hakone
The famous hot spring resort town of Hakone is a short trip from Saijoji. With its hot springs, Lake Ashi, the Open Air Museum, and views of Mount Fuji, Hakone makes an excellent complement to a Saijoji visit for a full day or overnight trip from Tokyo.
20 minutes by car
Odawara Castle
The reconstructed castle of the Hojo clan, one of the most powerful regional lords of the Sengoku period. The castle tower offers panoramic views of the surrounding area, and the grounds are famous for their cherry blossoms in spring. A small museum inside tells the story of the castle's dramatic history.
Minami-Ashigara area
Ashigara Pass
The historic Ashigara Pass, one of the ancient mountain crossings between the Kanto and Tokai regions, is connected to the legend of Kintaro, the golden boy of Japanese folklore who is said to have been raised in these mountains. The area offers hiking trails with views of Mount Fuji.
15 minutes by car
Daiyuzan Line Railway
The Izuhakone Railway Daiyuzan Line that serves the temple is itself a charming experience, a single-line rural railway that passes through rice fields and small towns between Odawara and the mountain. The train ride is a pleasant prelude to the temple visit, gradually transitioning from urban to rural to mountain landscape.
Visitor Tips
Official Links
đ View Saijoji Temple on Google Maps âSupport The Yokai Files
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Conclusion
Saijoji Temple tells a story that reverses the usual narrative of tengu encounters. This is not a place where a human met a tengu. This is a place where a human chose to become one. Doryo Daisatta looked at the temple he had helped build, at the mountain that had sustained him, at the community that had gathered around the practice of Zen, and he decided that the best thing he could do was to transcend his own humanity in order to protect it all forever. He became the mountain's guardian, its fiercest defender, its tengu. And six centuries later, worshippers still climb the cedar avenue and stand before the giant iron geta and offer their own clogs and pray for the sure-footedness that the tengu represents.
The cedars are still ancient. The geta are still piling up. The mountain is still guarded. And somewhere above the canopy, according to the tradition that has sustained this place for over six hundred years, Doryo is still watching, still fierce, still committed to his eternal duty, a monk who became a tengu because there was nothing more human he could do.
This is The Yokai Files.