Fudarakusan-ji (Japanese: 補陀洛山寺) is Tendai temple of the Higashimuro (東牟婁) district, Wakayama (和歌山) prefecture, Japan. The name of the temple comes from Mount Potalaka (補陀洛), it is said that the temple was founded by Ragyō Shōnin (裸形上人), a monk from India.
In 2004, Fudarakusan-ji was designated as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range （紀伊山地の霊場と参詣道).
Although the temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only tourist here is Choumeizai, the atmosphere is peaceful.
For over a millennium until the late 19th century, once the the monks turned 60 years old, they would go out to sea on a small boat in a practice known as ‘Fudaraku Tōkai’ (補陀洛渡海), which means crossing the sea to Mount Potalaka.
Mount Potalaka, literally means ‘Brilliance’, is the mythical dwelling of the Buddhist bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, said to exist in the seas south of India.
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Avalokiteśvara has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapani, the one who holds the lotus.
