Three mountains from Dewa
| Gassan | ||
|---|---|---|
 View from Gassan towards the sea |
||
| height | 1984 m | |
| location | Tōhoku , Yamagata , Japan | |
| Coordinates | 38 ° 32 '57 " N , 140 ° 1' 39" E | |
|
||
| Type | Shield volcano | |
| Yudono-san | |
|---|---|
| height | 1500 m |
| Coordinates | 38 ° 31 ′ 55 " N , 139 ° 59 ′ 6" E |
| Type | volcano |
| Haguro-san | |
|---|---|
| height | 414 m |
| Coordinates | 38 ° 42 ′ 1 ″ N , 140 ° 0 ′ 1 ″ E |
| Normal way | longest staircase in Japan |
| particularities | Gojunoto (five-story pagoda), Sanshin-gosaiden (Shinto shrine at the top) |
The Three Mountains of Dewa ( Japanese 出 羽 三 山 , Dewa sanzan ) are the three sacred mountains in the ancient Japanese province of Dewa , in the Bandai Asahi National Park in today's Yamagata Prefecture : Haguro-san ( 羽 黒 山 ), Gassan ( 月 山 'Moon Mountain') and Yudono-san ( 湯 殿 山 ). Gassan and Yudono-san are close together, Haguro-san a good 20 km north.
The Dewa Sanzan are popular pilgrimage sites. A common chapel to the three mountain shrines stands at the foot of the Haguro-san, where a festival takes place every year on July 15th. For the Yamabushi of until the 7th century traceable religion Shugendō the Dewa Mountains provide with their temples and shrines of the most important shrines. Even the famous haiku -Dichter Matsuo Bashō was there.
The Gassan was declared on December 9, 1972. Natural Monument, as well as the Jijisugi ( 爺スギ , "Grandfather Japanese cedar ," a 30 m high and 8.2 m thick tree) and Japanese cedar path to Haguro Shrine since June 9, 1951 The latter was upgraded to a special natural monument on August 13, 1955.
Three mountains from Dewa - Dewa Sanzan
Dewa Sanzan literally means "three mountains of Dewa". Those mountains that are considered sacred are Haguro-san , Gassan, and Yudono-san . The mountain group is located in the province of Yamagata , Tohoku, Japan and in the northeastern part of the Bandai Asahi National Park . The landscape is characterized by extraordinary, wild beauty and conceals hidden cultural treasures.
- Haguro-san ( 羽 黒 山 ): 414 m
- Gassan ( 月 山 ): 1984 m
- Yudono-san ( 湯 殿 山 ): 1500 m
Each of these mountains embodies a Buddhist deity and a mandala . The goddesses of the Three Mountain Shrines are considered to be Japanese incarnations of Buddhist deities. Mount Haguro can be described as the religious center of the three mountains, as it can be walked all year round.
Pilgrimage sites
The Dewa Mountains are the most visited pilgrimage sites in Northern Japan, whereby Togo, a district of the Haguro municipality, can be described as the center of activities and the care center for customs. Togo lies at the foot of the approximately 414 m high Haguro-san . Its main street leading to the entrance of the temple precinct is lined with quaint, thatched houses that have been inhabited and used as hostels for pilgrims by members of the Shūgendo for generations.
In Togo there is the important temple Koganedo - "Golden Hall" - which marks the ascent to Haguro-san . This temple was built by Minamoto Yoritomo in 1193 to pray for a victorious battle. There are numerous Buddhist statues and shrines here.
After the ritual cleansing and passing through a torii , a red gate that traditionally marks a sacred area, the pilgrim enters the longest staircase in Japan with 2,446 steps, which finally leads to the holy mountain Haguro . This path is lined with ancient cedars and the five-story gojunoto or gojuto ( 五 重 塔 ) pagoda , a national cultural monument. The gojunoto was classified as the national treasure of Japan in 1966 . On top of the Haguro is the Sanjin-gōsaiden ( 三 神 合 祭 殿 ), now a Shinto shrine that houses the deities of the three sacred mountains. This shrine with a thatched roof is the largest wooden building in Japan.
Attached to the shrine is the pilgrims' hostel called Saikan ( 斎 館 ). From here there is a wonderful view to the west of the Shōnai region and the coast of the Sea of Japan . To the east lie the mountains Gassan and Yudona-san , which the pilgrim commits from here. In the Saikan , the typical shōjin ryōri , pilgrimage dishes made from herbs from the forest, tofu and rice, are served. This vegetarian food is used for the physical and mental cleansing of the pilgrim.
On the three mountains there are Shinto shrines of the mountain ascetic cult Shugendo , Dewa-sanzan-jinja ( 出 羽 三 山 神社 ):
- the Gassan-jinja ( 月 山 神社 ) on the Gassan is to the moon god Tsukiyomi no Mikoto and
- the Yudono-san-jinja ( 湯 殿 山 神社 ) on the Yudono-san is dedicated to the mountain god Ōyamatsumi no kami. The sanctuary is a rock that is not surrounded by a shrine building, but stands free and is the source of a hot spring .
- The Ideha-jinja ( 出 羽 神社 ) on the Haguro-san is home to the local goddess Ideha no kami.
literature
- H. Byron Earhart: A Religious Study of the Mount Haguro Sect of Shugendo , Sophia University, Tokyo, 1970
- Carmen Blacker: The Catalpa Bow, A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan , George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London 1975
- Ursula Lytton: Shoureisai - The New Year's Festival at Mount Haguro Journal of the 34th International Conference of Orientalists in Japan, The Toho Gakkai, Tokyo 1989
- Ursula Lytton: "Death and Transformation - A Study of a Religio-Aesthetic Concept in Japan" , Journal of the International Association of Japanese Studies, 6th Annual Convention, Yamagata University, Yamagata 1990
- Hisao Inagaki : A Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist Terms ; Nagata Bunshodo, Kyoto, 1984
- Group Kaze: Yamagata - The Other Side of the Mountain ; Kurosaka Printing, Yamagata, 1988
Individual evidence
- ↑ 爺 杉 . In: 人 里 の 巨木 た ち . Retrieved July 13, 2013 (Japanese).
- ↑ 月 山 . In: 国 指定 文化 財 等 デ ー タ ベ ー ス (cultural monuments database). Bunka-chō , accessed October 19, 2013 (Japanese).
- ↑ 羽 黒 山 の 爺 ス ギ . In: 国 指定 文化 財 等 デ ー タ ベ ー ス (cultural monuments database). Bunka-chō , accessed October 19, 2013 (Japanese).
- ↑ 羽 黒 山 の ス ギ 並 木 . In: 国 指定 文化 財 等 デ ー タ ベ ー ス (cultural monuments database). Bunka-chō , accessed October 19, 2013 (Japanese).
Web links
- Suzuki Masataka: "Dewasanzan Shinkō" . In: Encyclopedia of Shinto. Kokugaku-in , March 28, 2007 (English)