Monk Shodo Shonin

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Monk Shodo Shonin (735 AD - 817 AD, in Japanese; Shoudo Shounin 勝道上人)  was the founder of most all the temples and shrines around the Nikko area. He was one of the greatest Buddhist Monks of the Heian Era. In 766 he founded the Rinnoji Temple (originally called the Shihonryuji Temple) and then continued to found temples, shrines and explore the area.  As an explorer, Monk Shodo Shonin is known to be the first person to explore the great summits of the mountains in Nikko National Park.  He climbed Mt. Nantai and visited the great Lake Chuzenji.  Next to Lake Chuzenji he built the Chuzenji Temple.  Chuzenji temple is one of the Bando Kannon pilgrimage temples.

Shodo passed away on March 1, 817, and was buried in Kaizan Do Temple in the Nikko National Park.  There is a statue of him at the entrance of the Nikko World Heritage Temples and Shrines site as a remembrance of his contributions to Buddhism in Japan.

Shodo Founded such sites as Futarasan Shrine, Rinnoji Temple and Chuzenji Temple while he explored such locations such as Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Waterfall in the Nikko area.