Japan Heritage story
Daisen: Japan's biggest cattle market, born from faith in Jizo
地蔵信仰が育んだ日本最大の大山牛馬市
For centuries farmers led their cattle and horses up Mt Daisen in Tottori to pray to Jizo for their safety. The temple's market grew into the biggest cattle market in Japan, and helped lay the ground for wagyu.
Key facts
- Theme
- Forests and timber, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Edo
- Region
- Chugoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 地蔵信仰が育んだ日本最大の大山牛馬市
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 鳥取県（大山町，伯耆町，江府町，米子市 ）
The story
Mt Daisen appears in the ancient Izumo Fudoki as the peg that held the rope in a myth about pulling land across the sea, making it the oldest sacred mountain in Japan's written records. A Jizo said to have risen from its summit pond became the focus of a faith tied to water and long life. In the Heian period the monk Kiko handed out charms to protect cattle and horses, and farmers began bringing their animals to Daisenji temple.
Contests between animals at the spring festival turned into trading, and by the mid-Edo period the temple itself ran the market at Bakuroza, below its grounds. In the Meiji era it met five times a year and traded over 10,000 animals, the largest in Japan. In 1920 Tottori became the first prefecture to start registering its cattle, a step that helped lay the foundations of today's wagyu. The market closed in the spring of 1937.
What to see
- Daisenji: the temple on the mountainside where the faith in Jizo began.Google Maps 大山寺 鳥取県 (opens in a new tab)
- Old Daisen roads: stone-paved paths that pilgrims and cattle traders once walked.
- Tokorogo: a farm village whose landscape reflects life at the foot of the mountain.Google Maps 所子 大山町 (opens in a new tab)
- Daisen okowa: a local rice dish handed down in the Daisen area.
Plan your trip with the Tottori prefecture guide, and see more shrines and temples and nature.
Good to know
- Daisen's summit view takes in the Yumigahama peninsula, the "rope" of the old land-pulling myth.
- Try Daisen okowa at a local restaurant or roadside shop.
- The mountain gets heavy snow in winter; check conditions before driving up.
Questions travellers ask
Why did farmers bring cattle to Mt Daisen?
They prayed to Jizo at Daisenji for their animals' safety and received charms. Gatherings at festivals grew into a cattle market.
How is Daisen linked to wagyu?
In 1920 Tottori began registering cattle sold at the market, the first such scheme in Japan, which later supported the breeding of wagyu.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.