Mt. Inunakisan is in Izumisano City at the prefectural boundary between Osaka Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. It is known as the oldest sacred place in Shugendo (Japanese mountain asceticism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts), which was started by the founder of Shugendo, En-no-gyoja, as gyoba (a training site of Shugendo for mountain ascetics. Shipporyuji Temple stands deep in the mountains which is the main temple of the Shingon sect Inunak school of Buddhism. There are many training sites here and there/everywhere in the mountains, and so the whole mountain is a big training site.
The approach to the temple is sufficiently built and maintained, because many general persons, not only mountain ascetics, visit the temple in the mountains. You can enjoy the beautiful valley including a primeval forest of pain tress and waterfalls while you walk on roads from the bus stop to the temple, and refreshing mountain streams and nature smooth visitors’ minds and bodies. The place is good for hiking, not only limited to religious faith or training.
Now, let’s go hiking to Mt. Inunaka!
You can get to Mt. Inunaki by using a bus for about 15 minutes from Kumatori Station on JR Hanwa Line. You’ll find a forest path along a river named Inunaki River from the bus stop. We walked the path in cedar trees thickly growing and enjoyed babbling stream and big and small waterfalls. It rained the previous day, and so the whole mountain was looked refresh and beautiful if it was washed with water.
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Mountains just getting off the bus
Taishido Hall
Entrance of Mountain
Wooden Bridge
Stacked Stones
Waterfall along Path
Offerings Placed Here and There
Paved Path
Stone Monuments and Stone Statues
Well-Managed
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Solemn Atmosphere
“Noppo Sugi” (Tall Cider) Height: 38 meters
Iwaya Daikokuten Torii Gate
Ryokai-no-Taki Waterfall
Ryokai-no-Taki Waterfall
Kintaka Bridge
Easier to walk than you think
Torii Gate and Stone Lantern
When we entered the mountains, the surroundings were totally changed. I felt very refreshed. The path was narrow but it’s easy to walk than expected, and I sufficiently enjoyed the surrounding scenery while walking. The mountains are also training sites for mountain ascetics and I saw steep mountain paths and projecting big rocks, which must be training sites from the path on which we walked. When you walked on the good conditioned path, however, you just enjoy hiking. You can listen to bird’s songs and sounds of water flowing through the valley. If you are alone, however, you may be scary.
After walking for a while, we found a red gate (a sanmon gate of the temple), Zuiryumon Gate. The red of the gate startled me because we went through black and white or deep green atmosphere. The place where the gate stands is a well-known spiritual site. After crossing Jinpo Bridge, we walked in the cedar primeval forest looking at a big training site on the left site, and found many buildings and stone monuments. I wondered how to build buildings and how to carry materials of those buildings into the depth of the mountains. A grave of a faithful dog stands on the opposite side of To-no-Taki Waterfall. The grave was built for mourning a dog losing his life for protecting his owner from an enormous snake, and the name of this mountain originated from this historical event (The Japanese word “Inunaki” means dog barking).
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Zuiryumon Gate (Sanmon Gate of Temple)
Stone Statue of Little Boy
Jinpobashi Bridge
Training Site
Primeval Forest of Cedar
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“Sinmei Daigongen” over Bridge
Bench often Seen in the Showa Era
Stone Signpost
Stone Trii Gates and Monuments Here and There
To-no-Taki Waterfall
Grave of Faithful Dog
We reached a wide-open space after climbing for 40 minutes or more. Mountain priests and followers gathered and the pray was just about to start. A big bronze statue of Migawari Fudo Myo-o stands in a plaza under the main hall. Many halls including Kannondo Hall are built around the main hall. Among them, we particularly politely worshiped at Bokeyoke Fudo Hall (the Japanese word Bokeyoke means to prevent dementia). The main principal of Shipporyuji Temple is Kurikara Tairyuu Fudo Myo-o. After passing through the main hall, you will see Gyoja Waterfall. The waterfall has a height of about 10 meters, and you will see chains hanging down if you closely look at the photo. Ascetics hold the chain during practice in or by the waterfall, for example, standing in the waterfall. A statue of En-no-Gyoja stands in front of the waterfall who is said to be the founder of the temple and training sites.
Although the place where the main hall and other halls are built has an atmosphere in which you may agree with me if I say the buildings are in the town, you totally understand that the place is deep in the mountains if you see Rocks in the river around the waterfall. The height above sea level is about 450 meters.
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Fudo Myo-o
Kannondo Hall
Temple Facilities
Statue of Ryujin (Dragon God)
Main Hall
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Gyoja Waterfall
Gyoja Waterfall
Gyoja Waterfall
Statue of En-no-Gyoja
Rocks in River
We had the enjoyable half-day round trip from the bus stop to Gyoja Waterfall. We were sufficiently able to refreshed by walking in the dense forest while listening to the bird’s songs and sounds of water flowing through the valley and observing the old halls, wooden or stone bridges, torii gates, and other buildings. In particular, it happened unexpectedly to us to fix our eyes on the stone Buddhist images and statues placed here and there along the path.
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The hiking course that everyone can go easily is, however, only this path. Other places are training sites for mountain ascetics and so if you want to go other places in the mountains, measurable readiness is required.
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