Cultural Assets－Temples and Shrines

Founded by En no Gyoja in 661, Shipporyu-ji Temple is the location of Katsuragi Shugen sutra mound #8. It is also a training site of central importance in Shugendo. Its honorific title, Inunakisan, which literally means “barking dog,” derives from Emperor Uda’s praise of a dog that sacrificed itself to protect a hunter from a giant serpent in the mountains. The temple is also known as Nyonin Omine (“women’s sacred mountain”) and accepts female Shugendo trainees. The temple has a pilgrimage route covering 28 locations in the mountains, including training sites, rocks, halls, and mini shrines, that mirror the 28 Katsuragi Shugen sutra mounds in comparative microcosm. Many people from across Japan visit the nature-rich temple for ascetic training.