Gassan Shrine (Dewa Sanzan)
月山神社
湯殿山神社
/ Yudonosan Jinja
The most mysterious of the Three Mountains of Dewa, Yudonosan has no conventional shrine building. Its sacred object is a massive rock formation stained orange by hot spring minerals. Visitors must go barefoot and undergo purification. What one sees at the inner sanctum is subject to a strict taboo of silence, which even Matsuo Basho honored.
Yudonosan represents rebirth and the future in the Dewa Sanzan pilgrimage. The sacred site has no formal shrine building; instead, a natural hot-spring-fed orange-brown rock formation serves as the shintai. Visitors are forbidden from photographing or speaking about what they experience at the inner sanctum.
God of mountains, the sea, and warfare; one of the greatest earthly deities
Basho wrote about Yudonosan: 'I cannot speak of Yudonoyama / tears wet my sleeves' - honoring the taboo of silence.
Source: documented
Location Coordinates
38.5380, 139.9550
7 Rokujuuriyama, Tamugihamata, Tsuruoka, Yamagata
山形県鶴岡市田麦俣字六十里山7
Tsuruoka Station
Seasonal (approx. May-November)
月山神社
出羽神社
樽前山神社
大山阿夫利神社
大山祇神社
Information provided by Jinja DB Editorial Team
The most mysterious of the Three Mountains of Dewa, Yudonosan has no conventional shrine building. Its sacred object is a massive rock formation stained orange by hot spring minerals. Visitors must go barefoot and undergo purification. What one sees at the inner sanctum is subject to a strict taboo of silence, which even Matsuo Basho honored.
Yudonosan Shrine (Dewa Sanzan) is located in Tsuruoka, Yamagata. The full address is: 7 Rokujuuriyama, Tamugihamata, Tsuruoka, Yamagata.
The enshrined deities are: Oyamazumi no Kami.