Blog Archives - Dewa Sanzan

Sakura Cherry Blossom Tree in front of Dainichibo Temple home to Sokushinbutsu Living Buddha Mummy Tetsumonkai Shonin on Mt. Yudono of the Dewa Sanzan

Dewa Sanzan Experience: Remembrance in Japan’s Sacred Mountains

Leave a Comment / Blog, Dewa Sanzan, Experiences, Mt. Gassan, Mt. Haguro, Mt. Yudono, Pilgrimage of Rebirth, Shojin Ryori, The Narrow Road to the Deep North / By Info Dewa Sanzan

A Spiritual Encounter with the Sokushinbutsu (Self-Mummified Monks) and in-depth exploration into Japan’s ancient ancestor worship custom Overview Step into the sacred heart of Japan’s mountains. Here, prayer, nature, and ancestral memory come together. You will be guided by yamabushi, mountain monks with over 1,400 years of walking these peaks in the ways of Shugendo, […]

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Houses in Tsuruoka on the way up to Mt. Yudono of the Dewa Sanzan

Tsuruoka City: Home of Haguro-san of Dewa Sanzan

Leave a Comment / Blog, Location / By Tim Bunting

Sitting in a Japanese castle at the turn of the 18th century, what catches your eye most? Is it the soft light hitting the cherry blossoms as they flutter in the wind? The stone grey of the castle contrasting against the black and white wall? The castle’s crest meticulously carved into the tiled roof? The

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The path to Saikan from the stone stairway on Mt. Haguro of the Dewa Sanzan

Saikan: Shrine Lodging on Mt. Haguro

Leave a Comment / Accommodation, Blog, Mt. Haguro, Saikan, Saikan / By Tim Bunting

Meticulously placed stones line the path off Haguro-san‘s stone stairway that leads up to the ancient entrance of an enchanting place, Saikan. Saikan is a former temple that provided generations of Yamabushi mountain monks all they needed for training; altars for rituals, Shojin Ryori (Ascetic Cuisine), Shiroshozoku garments for purification, and of course, lodging. These

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The Shoreisai Festival on Mt. Haguro

Leave a Comment / Blog, Events, Festivals, Mt. Haguro, Saikan / By Tim Bunting

What better way to welcome in the new year than with the symbolic burning of an evil demon to a crisp? Well, the annihilation of a demon twice is all but one small part of the much larger Shoreisai festival that starts with the most gruelling of Yamabushi rituals on the Dewa Sanzan, the Fuyunomine Winter

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Hassaku Festival on Mt. Haguro

Leave a Comment / Blog / By Tim Bunting

Cicadas blearing, rice fields of bright green leaves, fireworks on show, it’s summer in Japan and that means one thing; festivals. When the weather heats up, communities gather outside at night under the lanterns and let the sake flow. Traditionally, festivals in Japan are a celebration of successful farming, when communities show their appreciation to

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The Brahma Deva gets pulled during the Dewa Sanzan Flower Festival on Mt. Haguro

The Dewa Sanzan Hanamatsuri Flower Festival

Leave a Comment / Blog, Dewa Sanzan, Events, Festivals, Flower Festival, Mt. Haguro / By Tim Bunting

Put simply, the warmer months are an excellent time to visit the Dewa Sanzan, and not just for the Dewa Sanzan Flower Festival. Not only did Matsuo Basho visit the Dewa Sanzan during this time, but Mt. Gassan and Mt. Yudono are open for hiking, the Mt. Haguro Five Storied Pagoda Light Up is on, and

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Mt. Gassan and Toge pilgrim's lodge village

Your First Dewa Sanzan Pilgrimage Program

Leave a Comment / Blog / By Tim Bunting

Experience Shukubo Lodging and Walk Mt. Haguro with Yamabushi

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Yamabushi train on Mt. Haguro of the Dewa Sanzan

Trainings on the Dewa Sanzan mountains

Leave a Comment / Blog / By Tim Bunting

Looking for the best retreats in Japan? Looking for the opportunity to discover yourself in centuries-old experiences unique to this country? Or simply looking for the perfect escape deep in the mountains? Look no further than the Dewa Sanzan, the three sacred mountains of Dewa here in Yamagata Prefecture. Located right in the centre of

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Conservation efforts on the Dewa Sanzan

Leave a Comment / Blog / By Tim Bunting

Haguro-san (Mt. Haguro) is synonymous with its cedar forest, so much so that the forest was awarded status as a Japanese Special Natural National Treasure, one of only two such forests in Japan, and three stars on the Michelin Green Guide Japan, meaning it is worth going out of your way to visit. Many of

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The Shrine Gates of Mt. Yudono of the Dewa Sanzan in Autumn

Japan’s Spiritual Powerhouse: Dewa Sanzan

Leave a Comment / About Us, Accommodation, Blog, Buddha Mummies, Dewa Sanzan, Five Story Pagoda, Living Buddha, Mt. Gassan, Mt. Haguro, Mt. Yudono, Pilgrimage of Rebirth, Rebirth, Saikan, Scenery, Shojin Ryori, Sokushinbutsu, The Narrow Road to the Deep North / By Tim Bunting

Take a step through the Zuishinmon gates and into the cedar forests of Mt. Haguro and you will instantly be whisked into another world, the world of the Dewa Sanzan. Located in the middle of Yamagata Prefecture, the Dewa Sanzan is the collective name for the three sacred mountains of the former Dewa Province: Mt.

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