Finally, in the postwar era, abbot Kouun Shigaraki founded his own religion and split the temple away from Buddhism.

The actual objects of worship are ordinarily concealed from view, but visitors can see replicas of all three images in the main building.

The replica of the Defender Lord depicts a xian-like figure with a long beard, a big nose, wings, and a halo made of leaves.

It is an extremely popular temple for Japanese people to visit, owing to the many mysteries and occult events surrounding it.

Kurama is considered to be a mystical place because of the appearance of what are called Tengu, long-nosed legendary creatures found in Japanese folk stories that represented to ancient people the mysterious power of mountains.