Kūkai
Kūkai devotion and mantra

In modern Shingon, Kūkai is seen as a bodhisattva that one can pray and have devotion towards, similar to how the historical figure Padmasambhava became a figure of devotion in Tibet. Pilgrimages and devotional events focused around Kūkai remain a key part of the Shingon faith. The most important Kūkai pilgrimage route is the Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路, Shikoku Henro).

Kūkai's mausoleum (the "Gobyo") at Mount Kōya is at Okunoin (奥の院) temple and it is the main site for devotion to Kūkai. Offerings and prayers to Kūkai are made around the year at this site. He is believed by the faithful to still be alive, having entered a deep samadhi (meditative absorption) until the arrival of the next Buddha Maitreya. There is also a large graveyard at this site, as many individuals throughout Japanese Buddhist history have wished to be buried near Kūkai.

Kūkai also has a popular mantra which is recited in Shingon religious services. It is called the Hōgō (treasure name) and is:

namu daishi henjō kongō南 無 大 師 遍 照 金 剛

The mantra means "homage (namu) great teacher (daishi) henjō kongō (Vairocana vajra, Kūkai's secret tantric name). It could be rendered in Sanskrit as namo mahāguru vairocana vajra. The modern form of the Hōgō was widely used at least by the Muromachi period (1336 - 1573). It may have been created by the Shingon priest Dōhan (道範, 1178-1252) and is found in his Himitsu nenbutsu shō.
punctuation:no_comma, startend:end_checker