Sanbutsu-ji Temple

Overview

Sanbutsu-ji is a Tendai Buddhist temple set on Mount Mitoku in the town of Misasa, Tottori Prefecture. By tradition it was founded by the ascetic En no Gyōja as a training ground for Shugendō, and historically the entire mountain served as its precinct. Its inner hall, the Nageire-dō, perched on a sheer cliff, is designated a National Treasure of Japan.

Highlights

• ●The Nageire-dō inner hall, built into a recess in a vertical cliff (National Treasure)
• ●Origins as a mountain temple founded by the Shugendō ascetic En no Gyōja
• ●A name derived from its three Buddhas: Shakyamuni, Amida and Dainichi
• ●Mount Mitoku, designated a national Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty

History

Tradition holds the temple was opened in 706 by En no Gyōja as a Shugendō training site. It is said that in 849 the monk Ennin (Jikaku Daishi) enshrined three Buddhas here, Shakyamuni, Amida and Dainichi, giving the temple its name. Mount Mitoku was designated a national Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty on 7 July 1934.

Map

35.3993, 133.9558 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Visit the temple halls at the foot of the mountain
2. 2View the temple treasures at the Sanbutsu-ji treasure hall
3. 3Climb the approach path and take in the scenery of Mount Mitoku
4. 4Behold the Nageire-dō inner hall on the cliffside

Did you know?

💡 The Nageire-dō, built into a cliff face, is an architecture without parallel and is designated a National Treasure.

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