Tanzan Shrine, Shinto shrine in Sakurai, Japan
Tanzan Shrine is a Shinto religious site in Sakurai, Japan, with fifteen separate buildings spread across a forested mountain slope, all following the Kasuga architectural tradition. The red halls stand among cedar and maple trees, connected by stone steps and narrow paths.
The monk Jōe moved his father Fujiwara no Kamatari's remains here and built a thirteen-story pagoda over the grave; a lecture hall followed, forming the temple Myōraku-ji. The site was repeatedly burned by Kōfuku-ji monks, and the whole complex was destroyed by fire in 1351. The present thirteen-story pagoda was rebuilt in 1532, and in 1869 the Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism turned the temple into Tanzan Shrine.
The name Tanzan comes from the mountain where Fujiwara no Kamatari and Prince Naka no Ōe discussed the reforms of 645. Today the shrine holds the Kemari Matsuri on April 29 and the second Sunday of November, when players in ancient costume kick a deerskin ball in a circle.
The shrine sits on Mount Tōnomine, about 5 km from Ishibutai Kofun. A local bus runs from Sakurai to a stop near the entrance, and the paths between buildings climb stone steps and slopes. The Kemari Matsuri is held on April 29 and the second Sunday in November.
The thirteen-story pagoda, rebuilt in 1532, is the only surviving wooden pagoda of its kind in the world. It stands on the summit of Mount Goharetsu, where Fujiwara no Kamatari's remains were reinterred by his son Jōe.
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