View from the mountain trail
is a mountain on the border of
Sōma City and the former town of
Ryōzen, in
Date City,
Fukushima
may refer to:
Japan
* Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture
**Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
*** Fukushima University, national university in Japan
*** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...
. It is in height.
Along the hiking trail are the sites of what were Ryōzen Temple and Ryōzen Castle.
The mountain is listed as one of the
100 Landscapes of Japan in a contest sponsored by the
Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun and
Osaka Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by
In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (prev ...
.
It is also a national
Place of Scenic Beauty
is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...
as determined by the
Agency for Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture.
The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion.
Overview
The ...
in Japan and is noted for its autumn foliage and a
National Historic Site of Japan.
The mountain
Mount Ryōzen is part of the
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...
volcanic plateau
A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus.
Lava plateau
Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions th ...
known as the Abukuma Highlands in northern Fukushima. It was regarded as a
sacred mountain and was once known as a center for the ''
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 fo ...
'' mountain religion.
History
Ryōzen Temple
In the first year of the
Jōgan Era (859),
Ennin
, better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi (), was a priest of the Tendai school of Buddhism in Japan, and its third . Ennin was instrumental in expanding the Tendai Order's influence, and bringing back crucial training and ...
, a Buddhist monk of the
Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese ...
sect founded the temple Ryōzen-ji (not to be confused with
Ryōzen Shrine).
The name Ryōzen was adapted from that of Mount Ryojusen (or Gridhakuta) in India.
The temple was burnt down in the wars of the
Nanboku-chō period
The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...
, but the
Date clan
The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5.
History
The Date family was founded ...
restored the temple during the late
Sengoku period
The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...
. It was restored again in the early days of 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 character ...
.
Ryōzen Castle
Acting in support of the
Southern Court,
Kitabatake Akiie fortified the temple of Ryōzen-ji and turned it into his residence, which he proclaimed to be Ryōzen Castle. Acting as governor of the province of
Mutsu, he proclaimed it to be the
provincial capital. Kitabatake Akiie received the support of the 7th hereditary chieftain of the
Date clan
The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5.
History
The Date family was founded ...
,
Date Yukitomo against the forces of the Northern Court led by
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...
. In 1337 he led a campaign south, waging battle several times before he was killed on May 22, 1338 at the age of 21.
Ryōzen Castle remained for nine years after Akiie's death, before it was destroyed by the Northern Court's army.
The site was excavated in 1980, with a large amount of artifacts discovered, including
Seto ware pottery and coins from
Sung dynasty China. The site was designated a
National Historic Site of Japan in 1934.
Hiking Trail
Hōjudai
Hōjudai (宝寿台) is the point at the top of the cliff that stands upright from the foot of the mountain. From this point, one can see the Abukuma and Azuma Mountain Ranges.
Kokushisawa
From the bottom of the valley, Kokushisawa (国司沢) seems to stand at a nearly perfect right angle. There are ladders to reach this point on the trail.
Tengu no Sumō Jō

The "tengu sumo wrestling hall" (天狗の相撲) is a rock protruding towards the West with a flat surface the size of eight tatami mats. It is said that
tengu
are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a ...
prefer this spot for wrestling.
Gomadan
Gomadan (護摩壇) is the entrance to the area that was once the site of Ryōzen Castle. There is a low hanging rock to pass under before arriving at a large flat area where it is believed that Buddhist rituals were once performed.
[http://www.date-shi.jp/wp-content/uploads/brochure/tozan.pdf ]
Amenities
There is a restroom in the parking lot before the entrance to the main trail as well as one at the peak of the mountain, at the site of Ryōzen Castle.
Below the parking lot is Ryōzen's Kōsaikan (a hotel and bathhouse).
Access
The entrance to the main path up the mountain is located in a parking lot connected to the
Nakamura Highway (Route 115) and the Central Tohoku Expressway. It is about 45 minutes from the Kunimi Inter-change (IC) on the Central Tohoku Expressway.
It is also about fifty minutes from the Fukushima-Iizaka IC, or thirty minutes by taxi from the local
Abukuma Express Line
The is a railway line in Japan, owned and operated by the third sector operator AbukumaExpress. The line connects Fukushima Station in Fukushima Prefecture and Tsukinoki Station in Miyagi Prefecture. Both of these stations are also on the ...
's
Hobara Station.
See also
*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Fukushima)
*
List of Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan (Fukushima)
This list is of the Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan located within the Prefectures of Japan, Prefecture of Fukushima.
National Places of Scenic Beauty
As of 1 July 2020, five Places have been Cultural Properties of Japan, designated at a nation ...
References
External links
Videoby「Authentic Japan ゆめたびふくしま」(with English closed captions)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryōzen, Mount
Mountains of Fukushima Prefecture
History of Fukushima Prefecture
Date, Fukushima
Sōma, Fukushima
Historic Sites of Japan
Sacred mountains of Japan
Places of Scenic Beauty
Two-thousanders of Asia