In Japan, there are countless places where Shugendo monks used to practice. Above all the below is one of them.
Dewa Sanzan
The next biggest Shugendo place in Japan is Dewa Sanzan. Dewa Sanzan locates at the center of Yamagata prefecture, consisting of Hagurosan, Gassan, Yudonosan.
Gassan is the highest mountain which has been adored as a holy place where dead's spirits came back from ancient times.
Yudonosan, which locates next to Gassan, has been regarded as an inner shrine of Dewa Sanzan. However, its detail has been veiled for a long time, and still now. People say "don't say, don't ask about it".
In Edo era famous Haiku poet, Matsuo Basho visited here and made a mysterious haiku which avoid direct description that is "I cannot speak of Mount Yudono – yet see how wet my sleeve is now".
The third mountain, which is 20 kilometers remote from these two mountains, is Hagurosan. It locates in the east of Shonai plain, and it is not so high. Therefore, we can say it's a forest area rather than mountain. However the word of "Haguro Shugen" sounds all over Japan as an authentic brand of traditional Shugen in no way inferior to that of Kumano.
The founder is the legendary Shugen monk Noujosen, in another name, the Hachiko prince. He was told a third son of Emperor Sushun, defected from the palace to here for the political reason.
Dewa Sanzan is also famous for SOKUSHINBUTSU which are a kind of Buddhist mummy. The term refers to the practice of Buddhist monks observing asceticism to the point of death and entering mummification while alive.It is same ultimate asceticism as HUDARAKUTOKAI in Kumano.