Why Do the Japanese Revere Mountains?
Reading Mountain Worship Through Shirayama Hime Shrine
When people overseas think of Japanese mountains, Mount Fuji is probably the first one that comes to mind. Its beautiful cone-shaped form, its presence in ukiyo-e prints, and its status as a symbol of Japan have made it known around the world.
Alongside Mount Fuji, there are other mountains that have long been revered as sacred. These are Tateyama and Hakusan. Mount Fuji, Tateyama, and Hakusan have been known as the Three Sacred Mountains of Japan.
In Japan, mountains have been understood not only as beautiful natural landscapes, but also as presences that produce water, nurture forests, irrigate fields, and support people’s lives. Mountains bring blessings. At times, they also show a severity beyond human control, through snow, storms, and landslides. People have directed both gratitude and awe toward that immense power.
This reverence for mountains as sacred presences is called sangaku shinkō（山岳信仰）, or mountain worship, in Japanese.
Hakusan is an important mountain for understanding this form of worship. Hakusan is a sacred mountain spanning Ishikawa Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture, with its highest peak, Gozenmine, rising to 2,702 meters, or about 8,865 feet. Hakusan National Park also extends across Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu, and Toyama Prefectures, protecting the rich natural environment centered on Hakusan.
Located near the center of the Japanese archipelago, Hakusan has long been known as a mountain that holds deep snow. In winter, snow accumulates on the mountain. As the seasons change, that snow turns into water and descends the mountain. Becoming rivers, the water passes through villages at the foot of the mountain, irrigates fields, and eventually reaches towns further downstream. Water from the Hakusan area has supported life across a wide region through rivers such as the Tedori River, the Kuzuryū River, the Nagara River, and the Shō River.
The mountain holds snow, produces water, grows crops, especially rice, and sustains human life. At the root of Hakusan worship is this cycle.
At the center of the worship of Hakusan as a sacred mountain stands Shirayama Hime Shrine（白山比咩神社）in Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
