To make up for a lack of exercise these days, my husband and I climbed Mt. Inamura-ga-take (1725m) the other day.
climbing a gradual slope through coniferous forest
an elephant among the trees!?
Passing through the coniferous forest, you’ll find broadleaf tree forest
spreading, some of them were turning into autumn colors.
This kind of wooden bridge supported by iron piles
or iron chains on rocky and rugged slopes for climbers
to hold were fixed on the way to the top.
Clockwise from left, mikaeriso (mikaeri means look back; so those flowers are so beautiful that you have to look back to see them again), noazami, hagakure-tsurifuneso (mouthful name! hagakure means hidden under the leaf ), mamushiso in spring (mamushi means viper, do you think it just looks like a viper raises its head ?) and then mamushiso now in fall.
another peak of Mt. Inamura-ga-take
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Nothing is in the way to see panoramic view from
the top of Mt. Inamura-ga-take.
Over there is Mt. Sanjo-ga-take. Actually it is included in mountain ranges called Mt. Omine but in a narrow sense of the term, Mt. Sanjo-ga-take is called Mt. Omine. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage sites, as part of the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Route in Kii Mountain Range”. The temple on the top of it is the head quarters of the Shugendo sect of Japanese Buddhism and the entire mountain is part of pilgrimage and training ground of ascetic practitioners.
Traditionally women were not allowed to climb mountains sacred to Shinto religions. Nowadays only Sanjo-ga-take has the ban on women. However, its prohibition is no legal binding, there have been breaches by feminist activists. The temple and the local community issue a request for people to understand their religion and tradition. Instead, this Inamura-ga-take was reserved for women's practitioners, which doesn't mean women's only though.
climbing a gradual slope through coniferous forest
an elephant among the trees!?
Passing through the coniferous forest, you’ll find broadleaf tree forest
spreading, some of them were turning into autumn colors.
This kind of wooden bridge supported by iron piles
or iron chains on rocky and rugged slopes for climbers
to hold were fixed on the way to the top.
Clockwise from left, mikaeriso (mikaeri means look back; so those flowers are so beautiful that you have to look back to see them again), noazami, hagakure-tsurifuneso (mouthful name! hagakure means hidden under the leaf ), mamushiso in spring (mamushi means viper, do you think it just looks like a viper raises its head ?) and then mamushiso now in fall.
another peak of Mt. Inamura-ga-take
the top of Mt. Inamura-ga-take.
Over there is Mt. Sanjo-ga-take. Actually it is included in mountain ranges called Mt. Omine but in a narrow sense of the term, Mt. Sanjo-ga-take is called Mt. Omine. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage sites, as part of the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Route in Kii Mountain Range”. The temple on the top of it is the head quarters of the Shugendo sect of Japanese Buddhism and the entire mountain is part of pilgrimage and training ground of ascetic practitioners.
Traditionally women were not allowed to climb mountains sacred to Shinto religions. Nowadays only Sanjo-ga-take has the ban on women. However, its prohibition is no legal binding, there have been breaches by feminist activists. The temple and the local community issue a request for people to understand their religion and tradition. Instead, this Inamura-ga-take was reserved for women's practitioners, which doesn't mean women's only though.
Oh, what a lovely area and view. I like this peak and beautiful landscape. Looks so fresh. A bit strange with the rule about women not climbing the mountain..
ReplyDeleteIs there any sports climbing in these mountain?
I like the first picture very much, because of the light. I love to see the light between the trees when I am walking in the forest:-)
Hope you have a blessed Sunday:-)
And thanks for all your nice comments.
I am a bit out there when it comes to answering questions. I see other answers to questions in their comments section.. Do you think I should do it?
Hugs from north:-)
An interesting and beautiful post!
ReplyDeleteThis landscape looks spectacular,very colourful.I love the mountain peeks and blue panoramic views.......also the elephant tree trunk,a lovely gift to the photographer!
Monks frequently have found beautiful,secluded places in which to live and worship.
Thank you Cosmos,
Enjoy your week!
Ruby
相変わらず健脚のcosmosさん！頂上で味わう清々しさは格別でしょうね。登りつめた者だけの。主人はほとんど毎年、春の大峰山にのぼります。女人禁制のため、わたしは留守番。禁制でなくても無理と思うけど、、、。
ReplyDelete苦労して登った人だけが見れる景色とは思いますけど・・・なんとも羨ましい！！私も歩くのは大好きですけど、平地しか歩かないのです。あわただしく日々過ぎて行く中で、もうこんなに紅葉が美しくなっているとは・・・・。
ReplyDeleteRedrose.
Elephant ^______^ Maybe it's like human-trees ents in Tolkien's books but elephant-trees instead? :)
ReplyDeleteThe sceneries are breathtaking, thank you!
Oh You had a great time climbing Inamura-ga-take. Autumn leaves there are shining and very beautiful! I love your header photo and the second last photo the blues of which is really fantastic!! I think 1725m is quite high to climb. How long did it take you to reach the summit?
ReplyDeleteWOW! Shugendo! I have always been interested in legendary En-no-Oduno. Does the mountain have any legends about him? I'm a curious cat.
Thank you for sharing various different aspect of the mountain. I especially like the panoramic view from the peak, the shades of blue world, and the one where the leaves show kaleidoscopic changes. Of course the elephant tree is interesting. Enjoy trekking with your darling, cosmos.
ReplyDeleteSpiderdama
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
I don’t know what you mean by “sports climbing”, but as a part of self-discipline practice of the ascetics, there is a unique practice at Mt. Sanjo-ga-take, where you suspend the upper half of the body down the cliff and cry out that you will never do a bad thing. Anyone can participate that if they want.
Imagine from the cliff looking down the abyss just below your eyes, though some one holds you fast with a rope. It might be no problem with you at all ^ - ^ ?
forest dream weaver / Ekateriana
Thank you for your lovely comments.
haricot / redrose
Thank you for your comments.
登り詰めた人だけが」とか「苦労して登った人だけが」とか言われると面はゆいです。確かに登りは、特に私は弱くてかなり遅いペースでしか登れませんが、でも教訓は「歩みを止めさえしなければ必ず頂上にはたどりつける」ということですね。同伴する主人にはペースが合わなくて申し訳ないですが・・・
紅葉はまだ始まったばかりなので、多分月末まで大丈夫だと思いますよ。この近辺もきれいになってきていますね。ただ、まだはっとする紅葉には出会えていないですが。
sapphire
コメントありがとうございます。近畿地方の最高峰は、山上ヶ岳も含む大峰連山の八経ヶ岳（１９１５）ですが、この稲村ヶ岳も高い方に入りますね。でもそもそも登山口が８８０ｍくらいあるので、標高差は８５０mですけれどね。今回私の取ったコースは往復１３ｋｍくらい。６時間ほどかけました。最初はなだらかな斜面が続くので、時間はかかりますが、それほどきついという感じではありません。吉野郡天川村はこういった山々、渓流、史跡、歴史にあふれた興味のつきない所だと思います。
「修験道」「役の行者」、きっとSapphireさんの方が余程よくご存知だと思います。お話を伺いたいです.
母公堂（ははこどう）は、役の小角が大峰山で修業していた時、女人禁制のため母親が会いに来れず、この庵まで降りてきて会ったといわれている所で、「この先女人結界」と刻まれた石碑とお堂があります。伝説では大蛇が出てきて母親の行く手をさえぎったそうですね。ここが山上ヶ岳への入り口、少し先に稲村ヶ岳の登山口があります。現在の女人結界はもう少し上の方に移動しています。
Stardust
I'm glad you came back to blogging sooner than it was expected.
Take good care of yourself.
Thak you for the comment.
Cosmos,
ReplyDeleteI can not find the exact words to express this beauty of the top of Mt.Inamura-ga-take!
I just make a toast and a salute.
Thank you snowwhite for a compliment.
ReplyDeleteYesterday's paper says colorful season has come at Mt. Odaigahara. That is giving me itchy feet.
Such beauty--I would love to visit there one day.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your detailed explanations. I really appreciate it.
ReplyDelete役の行者さん、こんな風景のところで修行していたんですね。空気が澄み下界の垢もなく大自然にいだかれて。本当によい登山をなさいましたね。ここ数年、わたしは1500ｍを越える山に登っていません。山は1500mを越えたあたりから山って感じになりますね。
Dear Keiko, thank you for sharing this beauty!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Nature. Forests similar in our country. Here at an altitude of 1600 meters but we only have grass and stones. Nice blog. I admire the pictures in the gadget. I wish you nice days. / Peter.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter, for stopping by and leaving nice words.I hear from a friend of mine who visited Czech that it is a beautiful country. I'm looking forward to seeing some of them in your blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics (as always). And a nice one in the header. Hey! I recognize that place!!
ReplyDeleteOh, you did? Yes. There's a familiar coffee house near here.
ReplyDeleteUusually I pass by around here by car but last Sunday I was taking a walk and I had to be dazzled by the beauty of the big pond with its reflection of the sky blue and still summery clouds. I can imagine how beautiful it will be when those trees are turning into autumn colors.
Thank you very much, Marc, for the comment.
Hello,Cosmos!
ReplyDeleteI love your new header too.
So beautiful!!
緑の森、青い空に浮かぶたっぷりとした白い雲。ここは、私達の町の憩いの場所のひとつですね！歩いて行ったことはないのですが車で隣の公園によく行きます。秋が深まって、又色づいた景色を見たいです！
Have a good day,Cosmos.
Red Rose.
Walks with a loved one make the beauty in a place stand out. And so it does here. I believe that viper plant is also known as Jack-in-the-Pulpit? Where I'm from in the Midwest, the Native Americans made good use of the plant's corm for medicinal purposes and for food, but only if it was cooked. The raw corm contains poisonous calcium oxalate crystals.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that the religious tradition excludes women from ascending the mountain. I wonder why?
Thank you W2W,
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I didn't know its English name, though there is a variety of the kind.
As for ban on women, the origin of the tradition seems to be unclear.
However, one theory says those mountains were sacred to the Shinto religion; specifically menstruation was believed to be linked to Shinto concepts of "blood impurity". Another one says it is to remove thoughts of temptation from ascetic monks who practiced the strict self-denial of a hermit in an isolated mountain. Just for your information; Mount.Omine
This looks like a beautiful walk, full of variety. I like to climb mountains as long as there is a reasonable path, although it doesn't have to be smooth - I don't mind quite large rocks.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like particularly about this post is the peace and brightness. This is a wonderful combination, to me.
It is interesting that ascetic monks would choose such a beautiful place. I know that the Poor Clares, an ascetic order of Christian nuns, always had to walk with their eyes cast down so they could not see the world's beauty. (That always seemed sad to me)
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteOh, you don't mind big rocks? These mountains have quite big rocks on which you can enjoy great bird's eye views. These mountain ranges are the fusion of Japan's ancient mountain worship of Shintoism and Buddhism brought here around 6th century. Influenced by esoteric Buddhism, Shugendo practitioners believed they could become a living Buddha through training in the mountain. Mountains had such magnetic power.
What a wonderful walk Cosmos. The monochromatic views from the top are like a painting...
ReplyDeleteI love to walk so enjoyed your post very much.
新しいHeader になりましたね！素晴らしい。
ReplyDeleteTomoko.
What a scenic post. The woods, the colors, the views... And that bridge is so magical, just loved it... The scenes are so similar to what I experienced in the Himalayas...
ReplyDeleteLoved reading every bit of this post!!
Have a fabulous week ahead:)
Of course I like all photos! But the ones with the mountain panorama in blue...now that is something!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year 2012.
ReplyDeleteYour time is yours, with your heart.
The prayer for all peace.
Close spring, ruma ❃