Kakuban was born in 1095 in the province of Bizen, the manor of Fujitsu, one of the manors belonging to the Ninna-ji temple in Kyoto. It is said that as a child he saw his father being mistreated by the tax officials and, vowing that he himself would never suffer such treatment but would become a man of high position, he entered the priesthood.
At first he resided at the Ninna-ji, but later moved to Mt. Koya to undergo religious training. Hoping to revive the teachings of Kukai, the founder of the monastery of Mt. Kōya, he established a new temple called the Daidempo-in, and in 1134 he became its head and, with the backing of Retired Emperor Gotoba, gained control of all the temples on Mt. Koya.
There were many among the monks of Mt. Koya, however, who opposed him in these moves, and in 1140 his enemies resorted to force and with weapons drove him and some seven hundred members of his faction from the mountain. With his followers he then went to Negoro in the province of Kii and founded a new temple, the Daidempo-in, or Negorodera, where he died.
He was later given the posthumous title of Kokyo Daishi.
