is a mountain or mountains in

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

, Hyōgo,

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 ...

. This mountain is one of the ''San-hiko-san'', three ''Hiko''

Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local fol ...

mountains in Japan, and also one of Hyōgo 50 mountains, and Kinki 100 mountains. It forms part of

Seppiko-Mineyama Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in central Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1963, the park spans the municipalities of Asago, Himeji, Kamikawa, and Shisō. See also * National Parks of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * ...

Outline

There are contradicting definitions of Mount Seppiko. Yumesaki, which was merged into Himeji City in 2005, officially define Mount Seppiko as the name of a group mountains of Mount Horagatake (884m), Mount Hokotate (950m), and Mount Mitsuji (915m). However, maps of the

Geographical Survey Institute of Japan The , or GSI, is the national institution responsible for surveying and mapping the national land of Japan. The former name of the organization from 1949 until March 2010 was Geographical Survey Institute; despite the rename, it retains the same ...

show the peak of Mount Mitsuji as the peak of Mount Seppiko. Many mountain guide books write that Mount Otenjo, one of the peaks of rocky Mount Horagatake, is the default peak of the Seppiko. Other people define the Seppiko as a name of another group of mountains consisting of Mount Horagatake, Mount Hokotate, Mount Mitsuji, and Mount Myojin, Mount Nagusa.

Religion and history

Mount Seppiko is a place for the ascetic practices of

in this region. According to the official history of the Kaya Jinja, a Shinto shrine in the middle of the mountain, the shrine was established in the 7th century in the time of

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japan ...

. Mount Seppiko also is considered to be developed for Shugensha, practitioners of Shugendō. Kaya Jinja was originally a typical example of Shinbutsu shūgō, literally "fusion of practices from both Shinto and Buddhism", and had a Buddhist temple, Seppiko-san Kongo Chingo-ji, just beside the Shinto shrine. However, the temple was abolished by the

Shinbutsu Bunri The Japanese term indicates the separation of Shinto from Buddhism, introduced after the Meiji Restoration which separated Shinto ''kami'' from buddhas, and also Buddhist temples from Shinto shrines, which were originally amalgamated. It is a ...

Order, literally ''Shinto-Buddhism-separation Order'' of the Meiji Government in 1868. Mount Seppiko is one of the mountains which still have some areas which women are prohibited from entering, in order not to disturb the training of Shugensha.

Tourism

Mount Seppiko is also very famous for

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

. It attracts many climbers in Kansai area.

Access

* Seppiko-san Bus Stop of

Shinki Bus Shinki Bus Co., Ltd is a transport company based in Himeji, Japan, operating local bus services in Hyogo prefecture and other services mainly related to transport and tourism. History The company was founded on 10 March 1927 under the name of Sh ...

Gallery

Image:Seppiko1.JPG, Mount Horagatake Peak Image:Seppiko2.JPG, A view from Mount Horagatake Peak Image:Seppiko3.JPG, The top of Mount Horagatake Peak Image:Seppiko4.JPG, The top of Mount Mitsuji Peak Image:Seppiko5.JPG, The top of Mount Hokotate Peak Image:Seppiko6.JPG, A view from Mount Hokotate Peak Image:Seppiko7.JPG, Mount Hokotate from Kaya Jinja Shinto Shrine Image:Seppiko8.JPG, Kaya Jinja (Shinto Shrine)

References

Mount Seppiko

the Geographical Survey Institute in Japan

‘Shinban Furusato Hyogo 50 San’, Hyōgoken Sangaku Renmei
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seppiko, Mount Himeji, Hyōgo Mountains of Hyōgo Prefecture Volcanic plugs of Asia