Tenkawa Village Sightseeing Website

Ominesan-ji Temple is located on the summit of Mount Sanjo-gatake. It is bustling with pilgrims and climbers for 143 days a year from the opening ceremony on May 3rd to the closing ceremony on September 23rd every year. It all began in 672 when En-no Gyoja (founder of Shugendo), after severe ascetic practices, obtained the deity Zao Gongen and built the Zao-do Hall. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range," as well as a national Important Cultural Property at the highest point in Japan, and the fundamental training ground for Shugendo. It is also referred to as the "Shoso-in Imperial Repository on the Mountain" due to numerous artifacts discovered over the years. The two golden Buddhist statues unearthed during recent restoration work (both Important Cultural Properties) are believed to have been donated by Emperor Uda. Replicas of these statues can be seen at the Sanjo-gatake History Museum. Although the main hall underwent a major reconstruction by Gyoki in the Tempyo era, it was destroyed along with 36 sub-temples during the battles between the Ikkoshu sect and others in the Sengoku period (16th century). The current main hall was built in the Edo period and later expanded to its present size. Still adhering to a ban on women for religious reasons, it remains a fitting fundamental training ground for Shugendo, with sacred sites like "Abura Koboshi," "Kanekake-iwa Rock," "Nishi-no Nozoki," and the hidden "Tainai Kuguri" nearby. The trail from the Seijo Bridge, the starting point, takes approximately 3 hours one way and has been walked and preserved by many for 1300 years.