Japan Heritage story
Oyama Mairi: the Edo people's pilgrimage and day out
江戸庶民の信仰と行楽の地
In Edo times, about 200,000 people a year walked to Mt Oyama, some carrying giant wooden swords as offerings. It was faith and a fun short trip in one, and the pilgrim lodges that hosted them are still running.
Key facts
- Theme
- Forests and timber, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Edo
- Region
- Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 江戸庶民の信仰と行楽の地
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～巨大な木太刀を担いで「大山詣り」～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 神奈川県（伊勢原市 ）
The story
Mt Oyama in Isehara, also called Afuriyama, the rain-falling mountain, has been holy since the Nara period. People came to pray for rain, harvests and business. After Tokugawa Ieyasu expelled the armed mountain monks, the former monks became oshi: they ran lodges on the slopes and toured the Kanto plain over 100 days a year to spread the faith.
Unlike a trip to Mt Fuji, Oyama needed no travel pass and took only three or four days from Edo, even with a detour to Enoshima. Neighbourhoods and trades formed savings clubs (ko) and took turns to go. Craftsmen such as firemen-scaffolders carried huge wooden swords all the way, purified themselves at waterfalls and offered them on the mountain.
What to see
- Oyama Afuri Shrine: from the lower shrine to the summit, with wide views on clear days.Google Maps 大山阿夫利神社 (opens in a new tab)
- Oyama-dera: the temple of Fudo Myoo on the way up.Google Maps 大山寺 伊勢原 (opens in a new tab)
- Pilgrim lodges (shukubo): still run by oshi families on the approach.
- Hinata Yakushi: one of the mountain's oldest temples, founded in the Nara period.Google Maps 日向薬師 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Kanagawa prefecture guide and see more shrines and temples.
Good to know
- Stay a night at a shukubo to eat and sleep as Edo pilgrims did.
- The summit climb is a real hike; wear proper shoes and carry water.
- Add Enoshima on the way back, just as Edo pilgrims did.
Questions travellers ask
What is Oyama Mairi?
A pilgrimage to Mt Oyama in Isehara, Kanagawa, very popular with ordinary people in Edo times as both worship and a short holiday.
Why did pilgrims carry wooden swords?
As offerings. Groups of craftsmen carried huge wooden swords from Edo and dedicated them on the mountain.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
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- 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
- Flame-style pottery of the Shinano River: Jomon art from snow country
- Gyoda: the town of tabi storehouses
- Hakone Hachiri: walking the Edo stone road over Hakone
- Hida no Takumi: 1,300 years of master woodworkers in Takayama
- Hitoyoshi-Kuma: 700 years under one clan
- Iga and Koka: in search of the real ninja
- Izumo: the sacred land where the sun sets
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.