Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,028,055 and has a geographic area of 9,325 km2. Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, Miyagi Prefecture to the east, Fukushima Prefecture to the south, and Niigata Prefecture to the southwest.
Tsuruoka is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 January 2020, the city had an estimated population of 125,389 in 49,024 households, and a population density of 95.74 persons per km². The total area of the city is 1,311.53 square kilometres. Tsuruoka is the biggest city in Tōhoku region in terms of land area.
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 folk-religious practices, Shinto mountain worship, Buddhism and Taoism. The final purpose of Shugendō is for practitioners to find supernatural power and save themselves and the masses by conducting religious training while treading through steep mountain ranges. Practitioners are called Shugenja or Yamabushi. The mountains where shugendo is practiced are all over Japan, and can span multiple mountains within one range such as the Ōmine mountain range with Mount Hakkyō and Mount Ōmine or the Ishizuchisan mountain range with Kamegamori and Tengudake.
Mount Chōkai is an active volcano located on the border of Akita and Yamagata in the Tōhoku region of Japan, and is 2,236 m (7,336 ft) tall. Because of its (roughly) symmetrical shape and massive size, it is also variously known as Dewa Fuji (出羽富士), Akita Fuji (秋田富士) or Shōnai Fuji (庄内富士) depending on the location of the viewer. In addition to being one of the 100 Famous Landscapes of Japan, it is also included as one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan, and famous 100 Geographical Features of Japan. It is surrounded by Chōkai Quasi-National Park. It is also a National Historic Site of Japan, and is regarded as a sacred mountain by followers of the Shugendō branch of Shinto which has the shrine Chōkaisan Ōmonoimi Shrine there and is popular with hikers.
A Kumano shrine is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [Kumano Gongen (熊野権現)]. There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its kami from another Kumano shrine through a process of propagation called bunrei (分霊) or kanjō (勧請).
Bandai-Asahi National Park is a national park in the Tōhoku region, Honshū, Japan. The park site straddles over Fukushima Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, and Niigata Prefecture. The park was designated as a national park on September 5, 1950. The park encompasses 186,404 ha of land, consisting of three independent units: the Dewasanzan-asahi Region, Iide Region, and Bandaiazuma-Inawashiro Region.
Dewa Shrine is a major Shinto shrine associated with Shugendo on Mount Haguro, Japan. As the lowest of the three mountains, standing at 414 m (1,358 ft), it is the only one that is accessible throughout the year. By contrast Gassan Shrine and Yudonosan Shrine, which are closed during winter due to heavy snowfall. Because of this it is considered the main shrine.
Sokushinbutsu is a type of Buddhist mummy. In Japan the term refers to the practice of Buddhist monks observing asceticism to the point of death and entering mummification while alive. Although mummified monks are seen in a number of Buddhist countries, especially in Southeast Asia where monks are mummified after dying of natural causes, it is only in Japan that monks are believed to have induced their own death by starvation.
Yudonosan Shrine (湯殿山神社) is an important Beppyo shrine and one of the Three Mountains of Dewa. The shrine is unique in that it has no main building, but instead uses the mountain itself as a Kannabi, or a rock as an Iwakura. It is located in a valley between Mount Yudono and Shinakurasan Mountain.
Mount Ōmine, is a sacred mountain in Nara, Japan, famous for its three tests of courage.
Mount Hiko, is a mountain on the border between Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture in Kyūshū, Japan. It straddles the municipalities of Soeda, Fukuoka and Nakatsu, Ōita, with its elevation of 1,199 metres (3,934 ft) metres within the borders of Nakatsu. The mountain is also within the borders of the Yaba-Hita-Hikosan Quasi-National Park. It is one of Japan's 100 Scenic Views and Japan's 200 Famous Mountains. It is also regarded as a sacred mountain and one of the three major centers for Shugendō. It was designated a National Historic Site in 2017.
The Kumano Kodō (熊野古道) is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Peninsula, the largest peninsula of Japan. These mountainous trails are used by pilgrims to the "Kumano Sanzan" (熊野三山) - the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano: Kumano Hongū Taisha (熊野本宮大社), Kumano Nachi Taisha (熊野那智大社) and Kumano Hayatama Taisha (熊野速玉大社). These three shrines are the holiest sites of the ancient syncretic Kumano religion.
Prince Hachiko was the eldest son of Emperor Sushun, the 32nd Emperor of Japan who reigned from 587 to 592. His mother was Ōtomo no Koteko, Sushun's consort.
Gassan Shrine is a Shinto shrine on Mount Gassan in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It was formerly a national shrine of the first rank in the Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines. The main kami enshrined here is Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto (月読命), the Shinto moon god. It was established in 593.
Mountain worship is a faith that regards mountains as sacred objects of worship.
A shukubo(宿坊) is a temple lodging in Japan that allows visitors to stay overnight within a Buddhist temple. Originally, these facilities were designed to accommodate only monks and worshippers, but nowadays, in response to declining numbers of monk visitors, most facilities accept general tourists. Some temples, such as Mount Kōya, have open-air baths with onsen. Shukubo are now considered semi-secularized and in many towns are the only accommodations available.
Chōkaisan Ōmonoimi Shrine, also known as Chokaisan Ōmonoimi-jinja, is a Shinto shrine on Mount Chokai in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. The shrine has three parts on different parts of the mountain: Fukura-kuchinomiya and Warabioka-kuchinomiya at the foot of the mountain and easier to access for visitors, and the main shrine – known as Sanchō-Gohonsha – on the mountain's summit. The Shrine is a national historic site.
Mount Haguro is one of the Three Mountains of Dewa in the city of Tsuruoka, the ancient province of Dewa, Japan. Dewa Shrine is located on Mount Haguro.
Mount Yudono is one of the Three Mountains of Dewa in the ancient province of Dewa. The Yudonosan Shrine, the most holy of the Dewa Sanzan shrines, is located on the mountain.
Glossary of Shinto 
