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Mount Kami (Okayama)

Mount Kami (神山, Kami-yama) is a mountain in Higashi-ku, Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It the most sacred mountain of the Honbushin religion.

The mountain overlooks the fishing port village of Kugui (久々井 or 久久井) to the southeast.

Sites

The Honbushin kanrodai (sacred pillar) is located on mountain's summit. The kanrodai is a small outdoor hexagonal stone pillar, with a much larger vertically standing stone disk installed behind it, and a torii gate in front of it. The location of the kanrodai is known as kanrodai-no-ba (甘露台の場) (34°35′37″N 134°04′29″E / 34.59349°N 134.07463°E / 34.59349; 134.07463).[2]

There are eight sacred stones surrounding the kanrodai. Worshippers believe that by touching the stones with both hands while chanting Namu Kanrodai (南無甘露台), they will cleanse their minds of the eight dusts (八つの埃).[3]

To the east of the kanrodai is an area called the Seijyouen (清浄苑, "Purification Garden"). There are two main buildings in the Seijyouen, the Miroku Memorial Hall (記念館, Miroku Kinenkan) which is dedicated to Honbushin's founder Miroku-sama, and a worship hall called Saiseiden (再生殿, "Reincarnation Hall") adorned by a large spherical sculpture on top. At Saiseiden, worshippers pay respect to ancestors and pray for reincarnation.[2]

An observation deck (展望台) can be found to the south of the Kanrodai. The Honbushin headquarters (ほんぶしん本部, Honbushin honbu) is located in a valley to the north of the mountain (34°37′51″N 134°3′36″E / 34.63083°N 134.06000°E / 34.63083; 134.06000).[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "山ノ神山‬". OpenStreetMap. 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  2. ^ a b "慰霊祭". ほんぶしん (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  3. ^ "ほんぶしんの風景　神山". ほんぶしん (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  4. ^ "所在地". ほんぶしん (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-01-19.