{"id":30985,"date":"2017-11-12T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-11-11T23:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=30985"},"modified":"2021-04-22T20:00:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T11:00:29","slug":"oita-kunisaki-sacred-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/oita-kunisaki-sacred-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Kunisaki’s Rokugo Manzan: The Sacred Mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kunisaki Peninsula<\/strong> (Oita prefecture<\/a>, Kyushu island) and its Futago-ji<\/strong> is best known as one of the birthplaces of a particular form of worship. It was here in the Rokugo Manzan<\/strong><\/a> region, with its special spot in Mount Futago<\/strong>, that a syncretism between Shintoism and Buddhism formed<\/strong>. This thus gives a particular identity to the 31 temples and sanctuaries found here, and to the Kunisaki mountains a more spiritual atmosphere. Combined with the very numerous stone statues, some of them 1300 years old, the mountain is truly sacred.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shintoism and Buddhism Syncretism in Kunisaki<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The history of the religions of Japan is quite an intricate subject \u2013 certainly one that I cannot claim to have mastered. Yet I would like to try to describe what makes Rokugo Manzan’s spirituality so special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mountain worship religions seem to be as old as Japan itself. This is not surprising considering the fact that mountains cover the Japanese landscape. Mountains are sanctified and stand as gods themselves. This deification is called Sangaku Shinko<\/strong><\/em>. In Shintoism (Japan’s native religion), the mountains are home to the Kami<\/strong> <\/em>(gods) and thus are sacred places.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n