Sanbutsu-ji, Buddhist temple on Mount Mitoku, Misasa, Japan.
Sanbutsu-ji is a Tendai Buddhist temple on Mount Mitoku in Misasa, Tottori Prefecture. Its Okunoin, known as Nageire-do, sits in a hollow of a sheer cliff at 470 m elevation, built with the kakezukuri technique: wooden stilts and beams wedged against the rock carry the hall. The temple grounds also hold a main hall, a treasure hall and several small halls along the mountain path.
According to the Hōki Mindanki, the ascetic En no Gyōja opened Mount Mitoku as a Shugendō training site in 706. In 849, Ennin installed statues of Shaka, Amida and Dainichi Nyorai and named the temple Jōdo-in Mitokusan Sanbutsu-ji. The Nageire-dō hall dates to the early 12th century; a document inside its main Zao Gongen statue bears the date 1168. The hall is now a National Treasure, and the mountain was designated a national Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty in 1934.
The temple complex serves as a center for Shugendo practices, combining Buddhist teachings with ancient mountain worship traditions of Japan.
The upper mountain area, reached only by the steep pilgrim trail, is open from 8:00 to 15:00; entry is barred outside those hours, in winter from December to March, and in bad weather. Walkers must complete the temple's entry procedure before climbing. A free large car park lies about 400 m east along Prefectural Route 21.
Wooden support structures maintain the hall's position against the vertical cliff without visible means of initial construction access.
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