Mount Yudono, Sacred mountain and shrine in Tsuruoka, Japan.

Mount Yudono is a 1,500 m peak in Tsuruoka and Nishikawa, Yamagata Prefecture, one of the Three Mountains of Dewa. Its shrine, on the north slope of Yakushi-dake beside a river, has no main hall or worship hall. A vermilion torii stands before a low two-story building with a dark tiled roof, backed by wooded slopes.

Worship at Mount Yudono dates to ancient mountain religion, and the shrine drew medieval devotees: Date Masamune's mother, Yoshihime, prayed there for a child and, her wish granted, became a patron. In 1579 the ill Mogami Yoshiaki also prayed for recovery. The shrine has no main hall or worship hall; pilgrims enter barefoot, and Bashō, writing in Oku no Hosomichi, stopped short of describing it.

Yudono-san Shrine, the holiest of the Dewa Sanzan shrines, has no main hall or worship hall; pilgrims enter the shrine itself barefoot. The shrine is associated with prayers for good harvests and family safety. Date Masamune's mother, Yoshihime, prayed here for a child and, her wish granted, became a devout patron; in 1579 the ill Mogami Yoshiaki also prayed for recovery.

The mountain remains closed to visitors from November through May due to winter weather conditions; during the open season, access is available via a toll road. Plan your visit outside the winter months and check conditions before traveling.

Yudono-san Shrine has no main hall and no worship hall; pilgrims venerate the mountain itself, entering the shrine barefoot. Matsuo Basho, travelling the Oku no Hosomichi in 1689, stopped writing at this point, noting that practitioners were forbidden to speak of the mountain's details, and left only the verse about wet sleeves at Yudono.