Dewa Sanzan (Three Mountains of Dewa)

Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan and Mount Yudono are the three sacred mountains of the old Dewa Province, the heartland of Shugendo, the mountain-ascetic tradition that blends Shinto mountain worship with esoteric Buddhism. The pilgrimage traditionally climbs them in sequence as stages of death and rebirth. Mount Haguro, the low forested approach, carries 2,446 stone steps rising through centuries-old cryptomeria to the Sanbotsu shrine co-venerating the three mountains and the five-storied pagoda of 1372, a national treasure. Mount Gassan, at 1,984 meters, carries Gassan Shrine at its summit; Mount Yudono holds Yudonosan Shrine with its sacred spring pouring from the rock face, treated with the deference due a deity.

Shugendo was suppressed by the Meiji-era shinbutsu bunri edicts of the early 1870s, which ordered the separation of kami and Buddha worship; the Haguro lineage claims continuity through the suppression and the revival. Yamabushi guides lead pilgrimages today, and temple lodging on Haguro offers pilgrim hospitality with shojin-ryori meals.

Visiting

Dewa Sanzan tourism coordinates the circuit: Haguro open year-round; Gassan's shrine season runs July 1 to September 15 (2025 dates), Yudonosan June 1 to November 3; the high mountains close in winter. Yudono shrine access involves an offering fee (unverified amount). Shukubo lodging with shojin-ryori available on Haguro.

Photo: The Haguro torii in mist, [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torii_in_the_mist_v1.JPG), CC BY-SA 3.0, Japanexperterna.se.