Mount Haguro - Hagurosan

It refers to the hilly mountaintops in the western part of the Dewa Mountains in northwest Yamagata Prefecture. It is 414 meters above sea level. It straddles Tsuruoka City and Shonai Town in Higashitagawa County. It is made of Neogene mudstone and shale, and the mudflows of Mt. Gassan are found in the southern part. The valleys of the Harai River on the west and the Tachiya River on the east cut deep into the hills, forming a long land mass running north to south. It is called the Dewa Sanzan along with Mt. Gassan and Mt. Yudono, and has flourished as a sacred place for Haguro Shugendo since ancient times. Dewa Shrine is located near the summit, and the Sanjin Gosaiden (Sanshin Gosaiden) which combines Mt. Gassan Shrine and Mt. Yudono Shrine is a nationally designated important cultural property along with the bell tower. Within the vast grounds, there are many buildings and historic sites that remain as vestiges of the Shinbutsu Shugo period, such as the five-story pagoda, a national treasure, and Koutakuji Temple, the head temple of the Haguro Mountain Shugen Honshu sect. There is also the Dewa Sanzan History Museum, which houses a nationally designated natural monument, the Old Cedar, estimated to be over 1,000 years old, a temple bell designated as an important cultural property, and a bronze mirror excavated from Kagami Pond on the mountaintop (a nationally designated important cultural property). Toge on the western foot of the mountain is a village in front of the temple gates of Mt. Haguro, home to the important cultural property Shozen-in Golden Hall, and today there are nearly 40 lodgings. The main approach from Toge is about 1.7 kilometers long, and you can climb about 2,500 stone steps to the top of the mountain, passing through a row of cedar trees, a special natural monument that are 300 to 500 years old. There is a toll road from Tekata to the summit, and a road runs from the summit to the eighth station of Mt. Gassan, and in the summer, regular tourist buses operate. It is part of Bandai-Asahi National Park, and there are ski resorts, holiday villages, hot springs, and other facilities at the southern foot of the mountain.

[Shige Nakagawa]

"Dewa Sanzan and Hayama" (1975, Yamagata Prefectural General Academic Research Committee)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

山形県北西部、出羽山地(でわさんち)西部の丘陵性の山頂一帯をさす。標高414メートル。鶴岡市(つるおかし)と東田川郡庄内町(しょうないまち)にまたがる。新第三紀の泥岩、頁(けつ)岩からなり、南部では月山(がっさん)の泥流がのる。西側の祓(はらい)川、東側の立谷(たちや)川の谷が丘陵を深く刻み、南北に長い地塊状を呈す。月山、湯殿山(ゆどのさん)とともに出羽三山と称し、古くから羽黒修験(しゅげん)の霊場として繁栄してきた。山頂付近に出羽(いでは)神社が鎮座し、月山神社、湯殿山神社をあわせた三神合祭殿（鐘楼とともに国指定重要文化財）がある。広大な境内には国宝の五重塔、羽黒山修験本宗の本山荒沢寺(こうたくじ)など神仏習合時代の名残(なごり)をとどめる建造物や旧跡が多い。また、推定樹齢1000年を超えるといわれる国指定天然記念物の爺スギ、国の重要文化財の梵鐘(ぼんしょう)、山頂鏡池出土の銅鏡（国指定重要文化財）などを収めた出羽三山歴史博物館もある。西麓(せいろく)の手向(とうげ)は羽黒山の門前集落で、重要文化財の正善院黄金(こがね)堂があり、現在も40近い宿坊が軒を連ねる。手向からの表参道は約1.7キロメートル、樹齢300～500年の特別天然記念物のスギ並木が続くなかを約2500段の石段を登って山頂に至る。手向から山頂までの有料道路もあり、さらに山頂から月山八合目までの自動車道路が通じ、夏季は定期観光バスが運行される。磐梯(ばんだい)朝日国立公園の一部で、南麓にはスキー場や休暇村、温泉などがある。

［中川　重］

『『出羽三山・葉山』（1975・山形県総合学術調査会）』

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