Mount Mitake

A mountain located at the southwestern edge of Ome City, Tokyo. It is 929 meters above sea level. It is also called Bushu Mitake in contrast to Koshu Mitake. A bus connects from Mitake Station on the JR Ome Line to the Mitake Tozan Railway cable car. Both sides of the railway are lined with beautiful azaleas and mountain bush laurels. On the summit is Musashi Mitake Shrine, which was rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Keicho era (1596-1615) as a shrine to protect Edo Castle. The shrine was a place of deep faith for the Edo townspeople, and pilgrimages to Mitake were popular through the Ontake Ko association. On the approach to the shrine, there is a village of about 40 oshi houses that serve as lodgings for pilgrims, and near the entrance to the souvenir shopping street, there is a Jindai Zelkova tree, a nationally designated natural monument that is about 30 meters tall and estimated to be about 1,000 years old. The view from Musashi Mitake Shrine, which can be reached by climbing 335 stone steps, is magnificent. Oku Mitake Valley (rock garden), which stretches for about 1 kilometer from Tengu Rock near Nanayo Falls to the top of Ayahiro Falls, is known for its spring bark owls and autumn kantan. Musashi Mitake Shrine's red armor and circular mother-of-pearl mirror saddle are national treasures.

[Kiyoshi Sawada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東京都青梅市(おうめし)の南西端にある山。標高929メートル。甲州御岳に対し武州御岳(ぶしゅうみたけ)ともよばれる。JR青梅線御嶽(みたけ)駅からバスが御岳登山鉄道のケーブルカーに連絡している。鉄道の両側はツツジとヤマブキが美しい。山頂に慶長(けいちょう)年間（1596～1615）徳川家康が江戸城鎮護の社(やしろ)として再建した武蔵御嶽神社がある。江戸町民の信仰が厚く、御嶽講によって御岳参りが盛んであった。参道には参詣(さんけい)者の宿泊所として約40戸の御師(おし)集落があり、土産(みやげ)品店街の入口近くに高さ約30メートル、樹齢約1000年と推定される国指定天然記念物の神代(じんだい)ケヤキがある。335段の石段を上り詰めた武蔵御嶽神社からの眺望はすばらしい。七代(ななよ)の滝近くの天狗(てんぐ)岩あたりから綾広(あやひろ)の滝の上まで約1キロメートルの奥御岳渓谷（ロックガーデン）は、春のコノハズクと秋のカンタンで知られる。武蔵御嶽神社の赤縅鎧、円文螺鈿鏡鞍は国宝。

［沢田　清］

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