Oyama Shrine (Tateyama)

For other uses, see Oyama Shrine.
Oyama Shrine
Religion
AffiliationShinto
DeityAme-no-Tajikarao, Izanagi,
Amitābha (formerly)
Location
Geographic coordinates
Map
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15km
10miles
前立社壇
中宮祈願殿
.
峰本社
Glossary of Shinto

Oyama Shrine (雄山神社) is a Shinto shrine located in Japan that worships Mount Tate. The shrine is located at a high altitude of 3,003 meters and has three sub-shrines.[1]: 97  Several million people visit the shrine every year.[2]

It is located on Oyama peak, one of the three peaks of Mount Tate.[3]

It used to be called Tateyama Gongen, but was renamed Oyama Shrine in 1869 during Haibutsu kishaku.[4]

Oyama Shrine has a rich history and was historically a major site of Shugendō, a Japanese religion that combines elements of Buddhism, Shintoism, and other indigenous beliefs.[5]: 141–143 [6]: 55 

The shrine claims to be the Ichinomiya (highest ranked Shinto shrine) of Etchū Province, but there are other shrines that also claim this title.

Oyama Shrine is unique in that it does not have a honden, which is a main hall for enshrining the kami (deities), instead, Mount Tate itself is considered its main object of worship, known as the kannabi.

This is a rare practice and the only major shrines that continue the practice of direct Mountain Worship via Kannabi are Ōmiwa Shrine and Suwa-taisha and Kanasana Shrine.[7] [8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bando-2013a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
  3. ^ Fay, Tom; Lang, Wes (2019-03-27). Hiking and Trekking in the Japan Alps and Mount Fuji: Northern, Central and Southern Alps. Cicerone Press Limited. ISBN 978-1-78362-714-1.
  4. ^ Malá, Zuzana (2019-01-01). Religious practices in the Japanese mountains: From fleeing the hells towards the healthy, sustainable and spiritual practices of the consumer society. Masarykova univerzita. ISBN 978-80-210-9198-6.
  5. ^ Fukada, Kyūya (2014-12-31). One Hundred Mountains of Japan. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-4785-2.
  6. ^ Harding, Christopher; Fumiaki, Iwata; Shin’ichi, Yoshinaga (2014-09-15). Religion and Psychotherapy in Modern Japan. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-68300-1.
  7. ^ Cali, Joseph; Dougill, John (2012). Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-8248-3775-4.
  8. ^ "Keeping Ancient Mountain Worship Alive at Saitama's Kanasana Shrine". nippon.com. 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2023-10-18.