A renowned Shugendo sanctuary enshrining Mount Ishizuchi (1,982 m), the highest peak in western Japan. The shrine comprises four precincts from the foothills to the summit: Kuchi-no-Miya (main shrine), Joju-sha (middle shrine), the Tsuchigoya worship hall, and Chojo-sha at the summit. En-no-Gyoja is said to have opened the sacred mountain in the 7th century, and Kukai (Kobo Daishi) also trained he…

En-no-Gyoja is said to have opened Mount Ishizuchi as a sacred site in the 7th century. The monk Jakusen also trained there, and Kukai (Kobo Daishi) is said to have practiced on the mountain, referencing its stone peaks in his early treatise Sango Shiiki. During the era of Buddhist-Shinto syncretism…