Japan Heritage story
Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
「葛城修験」
The Katsuragi mountains, along the borders of Wakayama, Osaka and Nara, are where En no Gyoja, said to be the founder of Shugendo mountain asceticism, first trained. He is said to have buried a chapter of the Lotus Sutra in each of 28 places, and mountain monks still walk between them today, helped by local villagers.
Key facts
- Theme
- Sea and waterside, Forests and timber, Festivals and rituals
- Era
- Nara, Heian
- Region
- Chubu, Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 「葛城修験」
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- －里人とともに守り伝える修験道はじまりの地－
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 和歌山県（和歌山市、橋本市、紀の川市、岩出市、かつらぎ町）・大阪府（岸和田市、泉佐野市、河内長野市、和泉市、柏原市、阪南市、岬町、河南町、千早赤阪村、太子町、泉南市、貝塚市、熊取町）・奈良県（五條市、御所市、香芝市、葛城市、王寺町）
The story
Born in the 7th century at the foot of these mountains, En no Gyoja trained here before moving on to Omine, and Katsuragi became one of the two holiest places for yamabushi mountain monks. They visit the 28 kyozuka, sutra mounds that may be a stone monument in a cave, a small shrine in the woods or a rock in a river. Unusually, the first is by the sea, in a cave on Tomogashima off Wakayama, reached over rocks that appear only at low tide.
Because the mountains are low and close to villages, monks and locals have always been linked. Monks prayed for rain at waterfalls, and rain dances live on in Kishiwada and Izumi. A family in Kinokawa, said to descend from En no Gyoja's demon servants, still cares for a practice site there. Shugendo faded in the Meiji period, but after the war monks and villagers searched the mountains, rediscovered the lost mounds and revived the practice, which, unlike Omine, welcomes women.
What to see
- Tomogashima: islands off Wakayama with the first sutra mound in a sea cave.Google Maps 友ヶ島 (opens in a new tab)
- Inunakisan Shippo-ryuji: a mountain temple in Izumisano offering one-day Shugendo experiences.Google Maps 犬鳴山七宝瀧寺 (opens in a new tab)
- Diamond Trail: a ridge hike linking Makio-san, Kongo-san and Nijo-san along practice routes.Google Maps 金剛山 ダイヤモンドトレール (opens in a new tab)
- Mount Yamato Katsuragi: one of the sacred Katsuragi peaks.Google Maps 大和葛城山 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Wakayama prefecture guide, the Osaka prefecture guide and the Nara prefecture guide, and see more nature.
Good to know
- Try a one-day Shugendo experience at Inunakisan, with waterfall training.
- Listen for conch shells on the trails; you may meet yamabushi on their rounds.
- Kansai Airport is close, so the area fits a first or last day in Japan.
Questions travellers ask
What is Shugendo?
A Japanese tradition of mountain asceticism. Followers called yamabushi train by walking, praying and enduring hardship in sacred mountains.
Can women join Katsuragi Shugen?
Yes. Unlike Mount Omine, many women practise in Katsuragi.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Aizu's 33 Kannon pilgrimage: faith with a day out
- Asuka: the women who shaped the birth of Japan
- Chikuma, city of the moon: the moon in every rice terrace
- Date Masamune's dazzling culture in Sendai and Matsushima
- Gyoda: the town of tabi storehouses
- Hida no Takumi: 1,300 years of master woodworkers in Takayama
- Hinenosho: a medieval estate next to Kansai Airport
- Hirokawa: the tsunami levee built for a hundred generations
- Iga and Koka: in search of the real ninja
- Izumo: the sacred land where the sun sets
- Kamenose: crossing the landslide heart of the Tatsuta Kodo
- Kawachinagano: a town where the Middle Ages live on
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.