Mishotai Mountain

Mishotai Mountain rises 1,678 meters above Tsuru City and has been a site of Shinto and Buddhist practice since the early ninth century. A shrine dedicated to the creator deity Izanagi has stood on its slopes since that time, and the mountain itself became a deity associated with silkworm farming. In 1813, the monk Myoshin Shonin began practicing asceticism here, gathering many followers. He is said to have attained Buddhahood in 1815 at age 38, and just two years later began the austere process of self-mummification. His mummy was later moved to a temple in his hometown; the hall he built on the mountain has since fallen to ruin.