We visit Mt. Mitake in western Tokyo, known for the Shinto shrine on its summit and sacred areas of virtually unspoiled nature. We learn about samurai devotees and the tradition of mountain worship.
Western Tokyo is home to a group of thousand-meter peaks.
Among them is Mt. Mitake, famous for the Shinto shrine at its summit.
It's long been revered as a sacred peak where gods are believed to dwell.
There's an old-growth forest protected as a divine sanctuary.
Hikers taking in the great outdoors.
And residents who've kept the tradition of mountain worship alive through the generations.
There are many divinities in nature. Nature itself is a deity.
"Dive in Tokyo."
Today we hike around historic Mt. Mitake.
Mt. Mitake is located in the far reaches of western Tokyo,
about two-and-a-half hours from Tokyo Station by train and bus.
Hi, I'm Felicia, and today we'll be exploring a side of Tokyo that's a bit different.
It's one that's filled with lush greenery. Look at that.
Right? So I'm here at Mt. Mitake,
right at the foot of it, and it's got an elevation of 929 meters.
Now, to get to the summit from here by foot, it's going to take about two hours, but
take a look over there, they've got a cable car which takes you pretty close to the top.
And I'm going to be going that way, so let's go explore.
Mt. Mitake is a popular day-trip destination for city dwellers seeking the great outdoors.
It's steep in here.
Wow, I wonder what it's going to be like up there.
Felicia is an avid hiker who's ascended Mt. Fuji many times.
Although the weather today is gray, she's in high spirits.
The ride up the steep mountainside takes six minutes.
Oh great, we're already here. That was fast.
We've reached an altitude of 830 meters.
It's raining, but it feels so fresh. The air is great up here.
Look at it. Look, look.
The mist. Look at it. It's beautiful.
Ooh, that foggy mist.
It's really kind of like, kind of get a mood going on, right?
Now, there's a map. It's huge.
It's a map of the mountaintop.
We're here, then we're going to go this way.
The actual summit is roughly a hundred meters higher than the cable car station.
There's a path that leads up to the shrine there.
It looks like there's a lot of things to see, a lot of things to do,
but right now I want to go straight to the top and straight to the shrine.
Let's go. Okay.
It's about a 30-minute walk up to the shrine.
Okay, this path is made of asphalt.
It's really easy to walk on, really comfortable.
And I can take my time looking at the scenery as I'm walking.
Oh my, look at this, look at these roots.
Just gnarling right out of the ground over here.
This tree is just like clutching to the side of the mountain as it rises way up.
There's a series of steep slopes leading up to the shrine.
Okay, another incline.
Look at that.
At last, we arrive at the entrance.
Okay, so before we enter the shrine, we have to wash our hands.
Let's go here.
It's customary to wash your hands before proceeding in order to purify your body and mind.
Okay, let's go.
There's a final climb of 300 steps up to the shrine buildings at the summit.
Oh yeah, you can see we're really high up. Look, all the way down there.
Wow!
It's beautiful!
This is Musashi Mitake Shrine, which stands at the highest point on the mountain.
According to legend, it was founded in 91 B.C.
Hello, nice to meet you.
Kanai Itaru is the chief priest.
A shrine on a mountaintop... feels mystical!
I know what you mean.
We're up in the clouds, at an altitude of 929 meters.
Our shrine is deeply connected to Mt. Mitake.
The name Mitake means "mountain where deities dwell."
The shrine was built as a place of worship.
The tradition of revering mountains as gods has existed in Japan since ancient times.
Peaks across the country have been regarded as objects of worship.
They became places where devotees sought spiritual enlightenment
through rituals and devotional rites that strengthened mind and body.
Mt. Mitake also flourished as a site for ascetic training.
Musashi Mitake Shrine was built as a place to worship the mountain.
It was deeply venerated by feudal military commanders praying for good fortune in war.
Among them was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate.
This hall of worship faces due east, toward where Edo Castle once stood.
When Tokugawa Ieyasu moved into the castle,
he had the shrine reconstructed to face the castle.
It served as a western guardian.
The treasure hall of the shrine displays weapons dedicated by military commanders.
It was in medieval Japan, when samurai clans were vying for power,
that Mt. Mitake became widely known and attracted many believers.
This suit of armor is designated a national treasure.
It was dedicated as a votive offering by the warlord Hatakeyama Shigetada in 1191.
The original cords that were used to lace it together
still retain their crimson-red color after all these years.
They didn't want to lose in battle.
They were eager to win fame as warriors.
I believe that's why they dedicated these items.
In the second half of the 18th century, worship of Mt. Mitake spread among the common people.
It became so popular that a guidebook was published detailing how to get there from the city center.
Pilgrimages to the mountain became something of a popular activity.
And that tradition continues to the present day.
Mt. Mitake is a beloved destination not just for devotees, but for tourists as well.
It gets some 400,000 visitors a year.
In addition to the main hall, there are several other places of interest on the grounds.
This small shrine is one of them.
I wonder what kind of animal he is. Looks kind of scary.
The shrine is flanked by two stone statues of the now-extinct Japanese wolf.
It enshrines the animal as a guardian deity.
This tradition of wolf worship goes back to the ancient folk hero Yamato Takeru.
Legend has it he became lost on Mt. Mitake after battling an evil deity,
only for a pair of wolves to guide him to safety.
In the West, wolves are sometimes seen as cunning villains.
But in Japan, people believe they watch over humans.
That's interesting!
The wolf shrine is especially popular with pet owners.
So officials set up a space for pets to receive blessings.
We used to allow pets to come up to the wolf shrine.
But not all pets behave.
So now we ask pet owners to offer prayers here.
Nice!
The next day...
We return to the mountaintop for another look.
Wow, take a look at this, take a look.
The mist I thought was really cool, but look at this when it's sunny.
What a spectacular view.
The lookout point offers a breathtaking panorama of the surrounding mountains.
Then, on our way toward the summit shrine...
- What a cute doggie!
- Thank you.
Hello, baby. Hi, sweetie.
Here to see the mountain?
Dog owner Shingyoji Masahito has come from neighboring Saitama Prefecture.
She's older than she looks.
I brought her here today to pray that she has a long life.
This is Moco, an 11-year-old toy poodle.
We arrive at the shrine entrance.
There's a small fountain for pets, where Moco gets her paws purified!
My, my, it looks like someone has a spring in her step!
At this rate she'll get to the top in no time.
She turns back to check on her owner.
After a quick breather, it's a final push to the shrine.
Good workout!
I'm beat!
It's time for Moco to receive her blessings.
A priest recites invocations.
He offers prayers for Moco's longevity, just as he would for anyone else.
Please raise your head.
It's rare for a shrine to offer prayer services for animal companions.
In recent years pet owners from all over the country have been flocking to Musashi Mitake Shrine.
How was it?
This was her first time.
The priest offered prayers just as he would for a human.
I think Moco will live a long life!
Next, Felicia explores the area around the foot of the shrine.
Looks like a little town.
A little town nestled in the mountains.
There are a lot of big houses here, or residences, buildings.
Look at that, it's beautiful. That roof, grass thatched roof.
I wonder if it's an old building.
Most of the buildings in this mountaintop village are long-standing lodgings for pilgrims visiting the shrine.
There are currently 24 in operation.
Look! What an amazing structure!
That roof!
This 200-year-old building is one of the oldest.
It's gone through various renovations over the years.
- Hello.
- Welcome!
What an impressive building.
Age is its redeeming feature!
This time-honored lodge is run by Kanai Kunitoshi.
- May I come in?
- Be my guest.
This place is big!
Kanai shows us one of the rooms.
Wow, this is so lovely!
Nowadays, Mt. Mitake gets many tourists.
So the lodgings are open to all, regardless of faith.
What a beautiful view!
This time of year you can see the young leaves.
They get greener by the day.
Next, he shows us a unique feature of the lodges here.
Wow, look at that!
The deity of Musashi Mitake Shrine is also enshrined here.
Interesting.
Why here?
We get visitors who can't climb up to the shrine.
So they pray here and go home.
- The deity resides here.
- It's here on business!
Kanai is also a Shinto priest who's been serving at Musashi Mitake Shrine since he was in his teens.
In fact, the local lodgings are all family-run establishments headed by one of the shrine's many priests.
Kanai's lodge has been going for over thirty generations.
That is quite a feat!
I suppose.
It's nothing special.
Taking over wasn't a big deal for me.
It was the natural flow of things.
My destiny.
Kanai shows us a menu of dishes that they used over 100 years ago.
The mountain environment meant that they had access to limited ingredients, which they made the most of.
One of their signature dishes is made from a yam-like plant.
Kanai offers to prepare some for Felicia.
It's made from the corm of the konjac plant.
These were grown in a nearby field by Kanai himself.
The starchy roots are mashed into a paste, then combined with a coagulant over heat.
The mixture is then left to set overnight.
The result is a block of jelly, which is sliced into thin strips reminiscent of sashimi.
This is "konnyaku," a traditional Japanese health food rich in dietary fiber.
Just dip in soy sauce and enjoy.
- How is it?
- Tasty!
I like the chewy texture.
The wonderfully soft texture has made this dish a Mt. Mitake specialty.
It speaks to the local spirit of providing great hospitality through humble ingredients.
We have guests who've been coming for generations.
Parents, children, and grandchildren.
They worship at the shrine.
We welcome them as if they were relatives.
That's life on this mountain.
Next, we meet a man who knows the mountain like the back of his hand.
- Hello, I'm Felicia.
- I'm Katayanagi. Nice to meet you.
Katayanagi Shigeo is another priest at the shrine who manages a lodge.
I wore my hiking shoes today.
New pair?
It's easy to walk around Mt. Mitake.
So far, I've seen a lot of paths paved in asphalt.
Right.
The path up to the shrine is paved to make it safe for worshippers.
But down there...
the trail is completely unpaved.
It's great for hiking!
And with that, we're off.
Katayanagi will be our guide down this trail that goes deep into the mountains.
It's beautiful!
New buds are sprouting. The leaves are coming in.
Katayanagi says that May, when the trees become vibrant green, is his favorite season for hiking.
I've been walking these trails for a long time.
I was born on this mountain.
This is where I played as a kid.
About five minutes into our hike, we find ourselves surrounded by cedar trees.
The shrine buildings are right up there.
They're surrounded by all these tall cedar trees.
Shinto deities love evergreen trees.
So the shrine is nestled among evergreens.
That makes the shrine sound like a dimly lit place.
But that's where the deity dwells.
What a mysterious atmosphere.
All the places on today's walk are part of the shrine grounds.
This part of the mountain belongs to the shrine.
And we've opened it up to the public for hiking.
Alongside his duties as a priest, Katayanagi worked as a mountain guide for over 30 years.
After making our way through the dense cedar forest, there's a sudden change of vibe.
We just walked through a human-planted forest.
From here, it's all unspoiled nature.
An old-growth forest.
This is a hornbeam maple tree, which is endemic to Japan
and one of the species that grows wild on Mt. Mitake.
Around May, they bloom flowers as green as their leaves, creating a lush, verdant atmosphere.
Wow!
We're in a green wonderland!
Soon, we come upon a striking geological wonder.
- What's that?
- It's a rock formation.
That is one giant rock!
200 million years ago, this was the bottom of the sea.
It's said Mt. Mitake was formed through uplift of the seabed.
Scattered around are several immense rock formations where geological strata are exposed.
They're one of the highlights of hiking these trails.
30 minutes into our hike, we arrive at a stream.
The view along the water is one of Katayanagi's favorites.
How beautiful!
Look at all the moss.
This is a very mossy trail!
Along this stream is a stretch of moss-covered rocks about a kilometer long.
The dew, the mist, it's so rich. It feels like... How can I say?
It's very rich, very full of life. It's full of kind of an energy here.
In Japanese culture, rocks like these have traditionally been seen as places where divine spirits dwell.
In Shinto, we believe the divine dwells in all things.
Gods are everywhere, and can descend anywhere.
It's quite convenient!
But I believe there are certain places they prefer.
Large rocks, for example.
We hike on for another half hour,
and finally come to the upper reaches of the stream.
This is Ayahiro Falls.
Impressive!
For us priests, this is a place for meditation.
The mountain boasts many awe-inspiring sights,
but this spot in particular has long been protected as a sanctuary.
To become a priest at Musashi Mitake Shrine,
you must undergo a ritual of meditating under this waterfall as part of your ascetic training.
You get right under it, with your back against the water.
Like this.
For what purpose?
To purify your mind and body.
The force of the waterfall washes away impurities.
And then you can serve the gods.
In the past, this sacred spot was only open to priests and devotees.
But today it's part of the hiking trails. They even offer waterfall meditation experiences.
Now that you've opened this spot up to the public...
has that posed any challenges?
Not at all.
Anyone who's interested is welcome here.
This is a sacred spot, so we will continue to protect it.
But it can also be a sightseeing attraction.
The spirit of worship is important, but first there needs to be joy.
Instead of being narrow-minded, we should take a wider view.
Have a big heart. That leads to a good life.
The allure of Mt. Mitake is that it is so welcoming.
From families who have worshiped here for generations to families, to families and their pet dogs, to tourists,
and even those who want to appreciate the beautiful atmosphere of this sacred mountain.
And also, it's a good retreat for those who want to escape the urban grind.
And although it might seem a world away, it's all part of one. One Tokyo.