is an important temple of the

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 fo ...

religion in Yoshino district,

Nara prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. It is located at the peak of

Mount Ōmine , is a sacred mountain in Nara, Japan, famous for its three tests of courage. Officially known as , it is more popularly known as Mount Ōmine due to its prominence in the Ōmine mountain range. It is located in Yoshino-Kumano National Park in ...

, or Sanjōgatake. According to tradition, it was founded by

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, the founder of Shugendō, a form of mountain asceticism drawing from

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

beliefs. Along with Kinpusen-ji Temple, it is considered the most important temple in Shugendō. The sanctuary around the Sanjōgatake peak () has long been considered sacred in Shugendō, and women are not allowed in the area beyond four "gates" on the route to the peak. On the neighboring Inamuragatake peak (), altitude 1,726 m, it has been opened as a place of training for female believers since 1959, thus called . In 2004, Ōminesan-ji was designated as part of a

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World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

under the name ''

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the Kii Peninsula in Japan. Selection criteria The locations and paths for this heritage site were based on their historical and modern im ...

''.

Notes and references

External links

Sacred places and pilgrimage roads in Kii mountains
–Yoshino, Ōmine area

Buddhist temples in Nara Prefecture World Heritage Sites in Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Historic Sites of Japan Shugendō {{Buddhist-temple-stub

See also

Notes and references

External links