Cultural Assets－Other

Anamushi-toge Pass, known in ancient times as Osaka-goe is on the border between Osaka Prefecture and Nara Prefecture, and on the shortest route from the 26th sutra mound on Mount Nijo to Kamenose. It was used by Shugendo pilgrims long ago. A mini shrine at the pass enshrines a stone statue of the Jizo Buddhist deity and a three-faced, eight-handed seated statue of Bato (“horse-headed”) Kannon, another Buddhist divinity. Such statues were built to memorialize horses and were often located far from villages and in difficult-to-reach areas. Here, their presence is a testament to extensive use of cattle and horses to transport goods over the pass.