2026 Volume 33 Pages 163-172
Accommodation facilities in Japanese temples and shrines have evolved in response to the growing number of international tourists, yet research on this transformation remains limited. This paper examines temple lodgings（shukubō）in Koyasan as a case study, focusing on how the influx of inbound tourists since its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 has influenced the spatial organization and religious traditions of these lodgings. The results of the research show that since the 2000s, shukubō have increasingly shifted from traditional rooms divided by sliding paper doors（fusuma）to walled private rooms, some now offering en-suite bathrooms or toilets. In addition, these facilities attract tourists by providing opportunities to experience monastic life within historic Buddhist architecture and cultural properties, while packaging activities such as morning prayers, sutra copying, Ajikan meditation, and vegetarian Buddhist cuisine（shōjin ryōri）as accessible religious experiences. The study discusses that shukubō in Koyasan have been reconstructed from spaces of prayer into wellness-oriented places, where tourists can seek healing and self-transformation through participatory religious practices.
