Cultural Assets－Sutra Mounds

Sutra mound #27. According to the Shozan-engi, a record of Shugendo mountains compiled in the early Kamakura Period (late 12th century), sutra mound #27 was located near Anamushi-toge Pass to the north of Mount Nijo. The Katsurei-zakki (a guidebook on Katsuragi Shugen published in 1850) states that the mound was located in Ousaka, Kashiba. The existing sutra mound is a multi-tiered pagoda made of tuff (porous volcanic rock). Its four sides are engraved with bonji (Sanskrit) script representing the buddhas Shaka, Ashuku, Hosho, and Amida. The pagoda is a Kashiba City-designated cultural property, but it is not open for public viewing because it stands on private property.