Cultural Assets－Temples and Shrines

Takenobo is one of the five Shingon-school halls associated with Taima-dera Temple. Its principal focus of worship is En no Gyoja, and Shugendo practitioners always stopped here to pray for success in their training. It is noted in the Katsurei-zakki, a guidebook on Katsuragi Shugen published in 1850, as serving as an important training site and as a source of overnight accommodations for ascetics seeking to train in the mountains of Katsuragi. One can image how they lodged at Takenobo before setting off for Katsuragi Shugen sutra mound #26, which was located at the peak of Mount Nijo.