Sacred mountain - Shintaisan

Japanese: 神体山 - しんたいさん

This refers to a mountain that is directly worshipped as a deity. Mountain worship itself is common to the religious cultures of primitive and ancient societies, but the term "shintai-san" (mountain with a divine body) has come to be used in modern times to commonly refer to famous mountains and peaks all over Japan that have been the object of worship or faith throughout history in Japanese shrine rituals and Shugendo. The term "shintai" was established in the mid-Heian period, but the expression "mountain as a deity" was first used in Yamazaki Ansai's "Suika Shinto Hatsujuden" and came to refer to Mount Miwa in Nara Prefecture in the mid-Edo period, and the term "shintai-san" was first used in 1871 (Meiji 4) when Omiwa Shrine referred to Mount Miwa in a note addressed to Nara Prefecture.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

神体として直接崇拝の対象とされる山をいう。山岳崇拝そのものは原始古代社会の宗教文化に共通するが，神体山の称は日本の神社祭祀や修験道などが歴史を通じて崇拝や信仰の対象としてきた各地の名山高岳を改めて共通に表現する言葉として近代に使われるようになった。神体という語は平安中期に成立したが，山を神体とする表現は山崎闇斎の《垂加神道初重伝》を最初にして江戸中期に奈良県の三輪山をいうようになり，神体山の用語も1871年(明治4)に大神（おおみわ）神社が奈良県あての口上書に三輪山を指して使ったのが最初とされる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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