Mountain worship

In Japanese Ko-Shintō, due to the blessings obtained from water sources, hunting grounds, mines, forests, and awe and reverence for the majestic appearance of volcanos and mountains, these geographic feature are believed to be where the God resides or descends, and are sometimes called Iwakura or Iwasaka, the edge of the everlasting world (the land of the gods or divine realm).

In rural areas, there is a belief that Yama-no-Kami descends to the village in Spring to become Ta-no-Kami, and returns to the mountain after the autumn harvest, in relation to being a divine water source.

In Japan, on the other hand, it is noteworthy that reaching the top of a mountain is considered important.

Later, Shugenjas and Yamabushis, who were descended from Esoteric Buddhism and Taoism, went deep into the mountains to practice asceticism in order to disconnect from the mundane world and achieve Enlightenment.

It is worth mentioning that in Japan, mountain worship was combined with belief in ancient Shinto and Buddhism (especially esoteric Buddhist traditions such as Tendai-shu and Shingon-shu) to create a unique religion called "Shugendō".

However, since the Separation of Buddhism and Shinto after the Meiji era, temples and shrines have been separated, including in the Three Mountains of Dewa where Shugen of the Shingon esoteric Buddhism type was originally established.

In some cases they expressed beliefs of fear of being punished because of violations to religious prohibitions involving their faith in the mountains, such as littering and climbing accidents due to overconfidence, and have held large-scale festivals to appease the mountains.