Three Mountains of Dewa — 出羽三山

The Three Mountains of Dewa are not shrines but a mountain pilgrimage route — three summits in Yamagata Prefecture that together form a complete spiritual journey through birth, death, and rebirth. Mount Haguro represents the present world, Mount Gassan the afterlife, and Mount Yudono regeneration. Pilgrims dressed in white traverse all three peaks in a ritual circuit that has continued for over 1,400 years, guided by yamabushi — mountain ascetics who practice Shugendō, a syncretic tradition fusing Shinto, Buddhism, and mountain worship. The journey takes three days in summer, though many modern visitors complete abbreviated versions. What makes Dewa unique is its totality: it is not a shrine you visit but a cosmology you physically walk through, summit by summit, crossing from this world into the next and back again.

The Three Mountains were opened as a pilgrimage route by Prince Hachiko in 593 CE, during the reign of Empress Suiko. Hachiko, the imperial son who became the ascetic monk Nōjō, is said to have encountered a three-legged crow — the manifestation of a kami — on Mount Haguro, which led him to establish the first shrine there. By the Heian period, the Dewa pilgrimage had become formalized as a ritual passage through the Buddhist-Shinto cosmology of death and rebirth, attracting pilgrims from across Japan. Shugendō practitioners, known as yamabushi, settled on these mountains and developed extreme ascetic practices — waterfall meditation, fire rituals, extended fasting — as paths to enlightenment. The route survived the Meiji government’s separation of Shinto and Buddhism, though many Buddhist structures were destroyed. Today it remains one of Japan’s few intact Shugendō pilgrimage sites.

Each mountain enshrines distinct deities. Mount Haguro enshrines Ideha no Kami and Tsukiyomi no Mikoto, kami of the moon and harvest, representing the present life and material sustenance. Mount Gassan enshrines Tsukiyomi no Mikoto as the primary deity of death and the moon’s waning phase, ruling the realm of ancestors and the afterlife. Mount Yudono enshrines Ōyamatsumi no Mikoto, Ōnamuchi no Mikoto, and Sukunahikona no Mikoto — deities of mountains, creation, and medicine respectively — embodying rebirth and physical regeneration. The tripartite structure reflects both Shinto cosmology and the Buddhist cycle of samsara. Pilgrims do not simply pray to these kami; they pass through their domains in sequence.

The Three-Legged Crow and the Hermit Prince

Prince Hachiko fled the imperial court in Kyoto to escape succession intrigue and wandered north into the Dewa mountains. Lost in fog on Mount Haguro, he encountered a massive three-legged crow — the mythical yatagarasu — which led him to a sacred spring. There he performed ablutions and received a divine vision commanding him to establish a place of worship on each of the three peaks. The crow revealed itself as the messenger of the sun goddess Amaterasu, sent to guide him to his true purpose. Hachiko took the Buddhist name Nōjō and spent the rest of his life on Haguro, never returning to court. The three-legged crow remains the sacred symbol of the Dewa mountains, appearing on shrine amulets and pilgrim garments as the guide between worlds.

Mount Haguro is the only mountain accessible year-round and serves as the pilgrimage base. Its 2,446 stone steps ascend through ancient cedar forest — some trees over 1,000 years old — passing the five-story pagoda, a 600-year-old National Treasure standing 29 meters tall without a single nail. At the summit sits Sanjin Gōsaiden, a massive thatched-roof hall enshrining the deities of all three mountains, with a roof 2.1 meters thick — the thickest thatched roof in Japan. Mount Gassan, open only July through September due to snow, requires a steep four-hour climb to reach Gassan Shrine at 1,984 meters, where pilgrims undergo ritual purification and prayers for the dead. Mount Yudono is the most sacred and mysterious: photography is forbidden at the inner sanctuary, and pilgrims must remove their shoes to approach the rust-red sacred rock, heated by geothermal springs, which is the object of worship itself. What happens at Yudono is traditionally kept secret.

• Hassaku Matsuri (August 31) — The great autumn festival at Mount Haguro featuring yamabushi performing fire ceremonies and ritual conch shell blowing to mark the transition from summer to autumn and honor the mountain deities.
• Shōreisai (July) — The opening ceremony at Mount Gassan shrine when the mountain becomes accessible, including prayers for the souls of the dead and safe passage for summer pilgrims.
• Akinomine (Autumn Peak, late August-September) — A ten-day intensive Shugendō training ritual for yamabushi candidates involving fasting, mountain circumambulation, waterfall meditation, and symbolic death-and-rebirth ceremonies.
• New Year Ritual (January 1) — Yamabushi blow conch shells at dawn from Haguro summit to greet the first sunrise of the year, believed to carry prayers to all three mountains simultaneously.

July through early September is the only period when all three mountains are accessible and the traditional full pilgrimage is possible. Mount Gassan opens in early July when snow clears, and closes in early October. Late August coincides with the Akinomine ritual, when you may see yamabushi in training. For those visiting only Mount Haguro, early autumn (September-October) offers brilliant foliage along the stone steps and fewer crowds than summer. The five-story pagoda surrounded by ancient cedars in autumn mist creates the quintessential scene. Winter access is limited to Haguro only, but offers stark beauty — the massive snow-covered thatched roof of Sanjin Gōsaiden is otherworldly.