Mitokusan Sanbutsuji is a Tendai temple on Mount Mitoku (900 m) in Misasa Town, famed for its Nageire-do hall (a National Treasure) embedded in a sheer cliff face — widely dubbed Japan's most dangerous National Treasure. The temple was founded in 706 by En no Gyoja, and both Saicho and Kukai are said to have trained here, making it one of the most revered sites of mountain asceticism (shugendo) in…

The temple is said to have been founded in 706 by En no Gyoja as a sacred site for mountain asceticism. It was developed as Sanbutsuji during the Heian period and flourished as a training ground for mountain priests. The Nageire-do hall, believed to date from the late Heian period, was designated a …