Mount Kasagi

Japanese: 笠置山 - かさぎやま

<br /> A mountain in Kasagi, Kasagi-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto Prefecture. It rises on the south bank of the Kizu River, and near the summit, where Kasagi-dera Temple is located at an altitude of 289m, there are many strange rocks and stones, presenting a particularly strange sight, and it is known as the battlefield of the Genkō Rebellion, where Emperor Godaigo established a temporary palace. According to the Kasagi -dera Engi, the temple was founded in the Hakuhō period, but it is believed that worship centered on the giant rocks has been practiced since before the Nara period, and the concrete form of this is the 16m-tall Miroku Daimagaibutsu , which is considered the principal image, and the 12m-tall Kokuzou Rock-carved Buddha. The Buddha statue is a carved image of Buddha into a huge rock, and is thought to have been made at the end of the Nara period. During the Heian period, it became an object of worship with the rise of Maitreya faith due to the idea of the end of the law, and gave rise to the custom of "Kasagi pilgrimage." Later, the Miroku Great Rock-Carved Buddha was burned during the Genkō Rebellion, and only the shape of its halo remains today, but the Kokuzo Rock-Carved Buddha remains with its graceful lines and is protected as the largest and oldest linear rock-carved Buddha in Japan. The mountain area is home to native oaks, sawtooth oaks, and Japanese laurels, and the entire mountain is covered in bright natural forests with broad-leaved trees. Cherry trees are planted on the riverbed at the foot of the mountain, and the area is particularly crowded with tourists during the flowering season and the autumn foliage season. It was designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Historic Site in 1932 (Showa 7). The trailhead is about a 5-minute walk from JR Kansai Main Line Kasagi Station.

Source: Kodansha National Historic Site Guide Information

Japanese:

京都府相楽郡笠置町笠置にある山。木津川の南岸にそびえ、笠置寺のある標高289mの頂上付近には奇岩や怪石が多く、ひときわ奇観を呈しており、後醍醐(ごだいご)天皇が行宮(あんぐう)を設けた元弘の乱の戦場として知られる。『笠置寺縁起』によると寺の開山は白鳳(はくほう)時代と伝えるが、巨岩を中心にした信仰は奈良時代以前から行われていたと思われ、その具体的な形が本尊とされる高さ16mの弥勒大磨崖仏(みろくだいまがいぶつ)や高さ12mの虚空蔵(こくうぞう)磨崖仏である。仏像は巨大な岩に仏の姿を刻んだもので、奈良時代末期の作と推定され、平安時代には末法思想による弥勒信仰の隆盛とともに信仰の対象となって「笠置詣で」の風習を生んだ。その後、元弘の乱によって弥勒大磨崖仏は焼け、現在は光背の形を残すだけだが、虚空蔵磨崖仏は優美な線で刻まれた姿が残り、日本で最大・最古の線形磨崖仏として保護されている。山域にはアラカシやクヌギ、アオキなどが自生し、全山が広葉樹におおわれて明るい自然林となっており、麓の河原にはサクラが植えられて花の季節や秋の紅葉シーズンにはとくに多くの行楽客でにぎわう。1932年（昭和7）に国の名勝・史跡に指定された。JR関西本線笠置駅から登山口まで徒歩約5分。

出典　講談社国指定史跡ガイドについて　情報

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