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The garden is located halfway up Mount Shogaku in the village of Uwadera about 15 minutes by car from Yuza Station.
Mountain religions exist on major mountains in Japan. An ascetic religion called Shugendo that combined elements of mountain religion, Shinto, and esoteric Buddhism was formed during the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Shugendo in this area is called Warabioka Shugendo after the district. Uwadera is a village located halfway up Mount Shogaku at the foot of Mt. Chokai. In this area, there was only one trail to the top of Mt. Chokai, and many pilgrims departed from here for ascetic training. From that time, Warabioka in Uwadera flourished as a settlement offering pilgrim’s accommodations in 33 lodging houses.
* mountain religion 山岳信仰: A mountain religion is like animism, where people believe god dwells in all natural elements, such as mountains, rocks, water, and trees.
* -bo 坊: A bo is a lodging house where pilgrims stay and prepare for religious training.
Warabioka Shugendo was given 89 koku (13,350 kg of rice) as a yearly stipend by the feudal lord, Yoshiaki Mogami from 1597 to 1622. Later, Tadakatsu Sakai became the feudal lord, and the yearly stipend was increased to 188 koku (28,200 kg of rice) from 1622 until the end of the Edo period.
* koku 石: A koku is two and half sacks of rice, or about 150 kilograms.
In 1868, the Meiji Restoration transferred the ruling power from the shoguns to the emperor. At that time, the emperor was likened to a god in the Shinto religion. Therefore, Buddhism was an obstacle for the emperor and the Meiji government. As a result, the continued existence of Shugendo, including Warabioka Shugendo, was threatened. Although the owner of Yamamotobo had run both a lodging house and a Shugendo temple in Warabioka, he resigned from his position as chief priest of the temple and became a Shinto priest at Omonoimi Shrine under pressure from the Meiji government. With the anti-Buddhism attack diverted, the lodging house remained. At the same time, the Abe family changed their name to Torinoumi, which is written in the same Chinese letters as Mt. Chokai and was chosen in association with the mountain faith of Mt. Chokai. Warabioka Shugendo had 15,000 followers throughout the Shonai region, and Yamamotobo was an important lodging house that had 3,000 families as followers. Omonoimi Shrine is located near Yamamotobo.
Yamamotobo is located 110 meters above sea level. Here, visitors can enjoy beautiful scenery. The Shonai Plain is to the southwest, with Sakata and the Japan Sea along the coast. On the slope of Mount Shogaku there is a naturally preserved garden to the east of the main building that features beautiful rocks constructed to emulate Mt. Haguro, Mt. Gassan, and Mt. Yudono—the three sacred mountains of Shugendo.
Red pine and Camilla trees dot the left and upper side of the garden, and many azalea bushes grow among the clusters of rocks. There is a rocky path in the garden where visitors can enjoy hydrangeas, plantain lilies, and wisterias. There is a small waterfall on the left from which water flows over the rock clusters to the pond, making a pleasant sound. There are two rocks in the pond shaped like animals, a crane-shaped rock and a turtle-shaped rock. Many golden red carp calmly swim around these islands.
* crane and turtle 鶴と亀: The crane and turtle are symbolic creatures with a long life span. Therefore, Japanese use them when celebrating certain occasions such as weddings.
In spring, the color of the yellow plantain lilies, pink cherry flowers, and an old camellia tree present a beautiful contrast, and the azaleas blooming throughout the garden are magnificent. In summer, there is a wonderful fragrance of lilies in the air, and fireflies blink above the pond at night. In autumn, all the leaves change to various colors, and the light of the moon over the hill reflects on the pond creating a fantastic sight during the night. The wondrous beauty transforms throughout the seasons and time of day.
鶴の島、亀の島とも父母が
すこやかに居てわれのふるさと
昭子
The crane island and turtle island live long lives, like my parents, allowing this place to remain my home.
Akiko Torinoumi
This poem shows nostalgia for her hometown and her wish for her parents to live long and healthy lives.
Akiko Torinoumi won the Modern Poet Association Prize. The remarkable female poet was born here in Yamamotobo.
(Romeo Goto et al., VIPS)
The photos on this page are courtesy of Yuza Town and Maki Goto of Yuza Town Office.
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