is one of the

Three Mountains of Dewa The refer to the three sacred mountains of Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan and Mount Yudono, which are clustered together in the ancient province of Dewa (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture). Holy to the Japanese Shinto religion and especially the mounta ...

in the city of Tsuruoka, the ancient province of Dewa (a domain consisting of modern-day

Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...

and

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is a large shrine complex with a major

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

associated with Shugendo. As the lowest of the three mountains, standing at , it is the only one that is accessible throughout the year. Earhart, H. Byron. (1965). ''Four ritual periods of Haguro shugendo in northeastern Japan.'' History of Religions, 5(1), 93-113.Earhart, H. Byron. (1968). ''The celebration of "Haru-Yama" (Spring Mountain): An example of folk religious practices in contemporary Japan.'' Asian Folklore Studies, 27(1), 1-24Hori, Ichiro. (1966) ''Mountains and their importance for the idea of the other world in Japanese folk religion.'' History of Religions, 6(1), 1-23 By contrast

Gassan Shrine Gassan Shrine (月山神社, ''Gassan jinja'') is a Shinto shrine on Mount Gassan in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It was formerly a national shrine of the first rank (国幣大社, ''kokuhei taisha'') in the Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines ...

and

Yudonosan Shrine is one of the Three Mountains of Dewa in the ancient province of Dewa (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture). The Yudonosan Shrine, the most holy of the Dewa Sanzan shrines, is located on the mountain. Pilgrims have to enter the shrine itself barefoo ...

, which are closed during winter due to heavy snowfall. Because of this it is considered the main shrine. A path of 2,446 stone steps leads to its summit amidst 600-year-old sugi trees, past the famous

Gojūnotō A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taois ...

(五重塔) five story pagoda, Grandpa cedar (jijisugi 爺杉), the 1000 years old cedar tree, and numerous shrines. The steps and the pagoda are listed as

National Treasures National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Dewa Shrine, also called Hagurosan Shrine or Sanjingōsaiden shrine (三神合祭殿) located at the summit venerates the spirits of all three mountains, making it the most important of all the three shrines. The summit can also be reached by bus service. In addition to religious pilgrims, travellers often stay at the

Saikan Saikan (斎館, ''Saikan'') is a sprawling temple lodging atop Mt. Haguro (羽黒山 ''Haguro-san''), part of the Three Mountains of Dewa (出羽三山 ''Dewa Sanzan'') in Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku ...

temple lodgings. In the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

there used to be 336 shukubo on the mountain.Earhart, H. B. (1965). Four Ritual Periods of Haguro Shugendō in Northeastern Japan. ''History of Religions'', ''5''(1), 93–113. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061805 Five_tier_pagoda_at_Mt

Beppyo shrines Kokuhei Shōsha Mountain faith Myōjin Taisha Three Mountains of Dewa

Gallery

Image:Hagurosan Syoro 2006.jpg, Shōrō Image:Hagurosan Gohaiden 2006.jpg, Sanzan Gosai-den temple Image:Hagurosan Gohaiden kohai 2006.jpg, Gosai-den-haiden Image:Hagurosan Gojunto 2006-B.jpg, Gojū-tō Image:Hagurosan Path to the summit 2006.jpg, The path to the summit Image:Hagurosan Haniyamahime jinja 2006.jpg, Haniyamahime-jinja Image:Five tier pagoda at Mt. Haguro 2006-10-29.jpg, The Gojū-tō Pagoda, near the base of Mount Haguro Image:HaguroSan1.jpg, The grounds of the Saikan lodgings. Image:HaguroSan2.jpg, A temple at the top of Mount Haguro. Image:HaguroSan3.jpg, Detailed engraving work atop a temple. Image:HaguroSan4.jpg, Bell and torii Image:HaguroSan5.jpg, Incense Image:HaguroSan6.jpg, Sculpture Image:HaguroSan7.jpg, The path to the summit

References

External links

{{Wikivoyage, Dewa_Sanzan Shinto shrines in Yamagata Prefecture Haguro National Treasures of Japan Sacred mountains of Japan Three Mountains of Dewa Shikinai Shosha
Mount Haguro Page (English)

English information about Mount Haguro

Gallery

See also

References

External links