Three Mountains of Dewa

The Three Mountains of Dewa, or Dewa Sanzan, are the sacred peaks of Haguro, Gassan and Yudono in Yamagata, the spiritual heart of Shugendō, Japan's syncretic mountain-worship tradition. Together they symbolise birth, death and rebirth, and pilgrims have walked their circuit for more than 1,400 years.

Its centrepiece is Mount Haguro, reached by a cedar-lined stone stairway of 2,446 steps that climbs past a magnificent five-storey wooden pagoda to a thatched shrine at the top. Gassan, at about 1,984 metres, is the high alpine summit, while remote Yudono guards the tradition's most secret rites.

On the trail Haguro's stairway is a two-to-three-hour climb walkable year-round, while the full three-mountain pilgrimage linking Gassan and Yudono is a strenuous multi-day mountain walk on snow-streaked alpine paths. Graded easy at Haguro but moderate to difficult higher up, it demands proper footwear and stamina for the ridge sections.

Practical notes: no permit is required, though the yamabushi ascetic training sessions must be booked; buses reach the trailheads from Tsuruoka. Haguro is accessible all year, but Gassan and Yudono only open for the summer climbing season from roughly July to September, when the snow clears; heavy winter snow buries the high shrines entirely. White pilgrim dress is traditional.