yamadera: shrine of 1000 stairs
offerings to the gods.
we bullet train back south, stopping in sendai station for lunch and shopping before boarding a tiny local train that will take us through the winding mountains to yamadera, a UNESCO world heritage temple site. there are indeed 10,000 steps to the top! you walk through sacred forests, past ancient burial sites and shrines, endless places to offer prayers and give thanks. your hike is well worth the effort once you see the view from the top shrines. be prepared to get passed on your pilgrimage by 90 year olds wielding walking sticks!
from the prefectural website:
Risshaku-ji was founded in 860 to oversee the operations of the Tendai sect of Buddhism in the Tohoku area. A famous story relates how Matsuo Basho, the leading Japanese haiku poet of the 17th century, visited the temple and composed a poem on its tranquil beauty in the woods. A monument to the poem stands in the temple compound. The Konpon-chu-do, a hall in the complex, was rebuilt in the 14th century and was designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. In it, a Buddhist flame transferred from the temple Hiei-zan has been kept lit since the foundation of the temple - more than 1,000 years . The Hiho-kan (treasure hall) enshrines the treasures of Risshaku-ji, the most significant of which is a monument to a Buddhist sutra which was built in 1144 & is designated an Important Cultural Property. Buddhist images and seated statues of high priests are also enshrined here.
