Akihasan / 秋葉山 -- Part 1 (Patreon)

Let's visit Akiha-san / 秋葉山 together 🔥⛩️👺⛰️.

The name means Autumn Leaves Mountain, and there are around 800 Akiha shrines across Japan today. All are dedicated to the reverence of and protection from fire. The one in Hamamatsu is the main one. That's the one we went to. How did I not know about this before? It seems like a lot of locals don't even know. I told friends I was going to make a visit there, and they had only heard of the name and nothing about the shrine or its history. Anyway, it's from this mountain temple/shrine that Akihabara gets its name. Back in the Meiji Era, there were so many fires that devastated Tokyo, an Akiha shrine was built to ask the kami for help. That was built in what is now Akihabara. The original shrine was moved, though, to make room for the Akihabara Station. The shrine is now near Ueno Station.

Today any profession that uses fire will make a visit to the shrine. People come from far away, too. Firemen, cooks, and artisans that use fire like blacksmiths and potters, because they use kilns. It sounds like quite a few big companies also offers prayers and I'm sure make large donations -- just a guess.

Where we went, there are two shrines actually, one at the base of the mountain (shimosha // 下社) and one at the top (kamisha //神社). They were established in 709 CE, 1,300 years ago! The god residing in the shrines -- for those interested in kami -- is Hinokagutsuchi no ōmikami 火之迦具土大神（ひのかぐつちのおおみかみ).

I mentioned earlier, but a tengu is also associated with the mountain. It seems to be the mascot, too, with lots of masks and talismans sold there. Here's something interesting.

The sect of Akiha-san Hongu Shrine is Shugendō. I could do a whole post or episode on Shugendō. It's so cool. But briefly, it's sort of a merging of Shinto (nature worship) and Buddhism (goals for enlightenment) with some Taoism (harmony) thrown in there. So very wonderful and wild. Shugendō believes mountains are sacred places where you can connect with spirits and divine forces. Those who practice Shugendō are called yamabushi.

Remember how the tengu dresses?

 Well, this is a yamabushi's uniform.

Side by side.

So you see the connection.

Yamabushi, by the way, are ascetics who do lots of fasting, fire walking, meditating under ice cold waterfalls, and very long and treacherous barefoot hikes through the mountains.

Speaking of long and treacherous hikes...

We didn't leave as early as I wanted to. Being an Air Force brat and the influence of my dad's personality, I'm a very "Let's be there an hour early!!" kind of person. Note: My dad is still that way, but I'm trying to break the habit, be more chill about it. So we ended up not getting to the bottom of the mountain until a little before noon. First mistake! Kidding. Not a mistake really, more of a lucky thing. That in Part 2. The hike itself is around 900 meters up. That didn't sound too far to me. But it's 2,952 feet. A little more than half a mile. On flat ground we walk for hours, a half mile is nothing. But I'm not sure it computed to me what going UP meant.

Anyway.

We visited the bottom shrine.

Here are some of the omikuji tied up. This is the first time I've seen any with gold on them. Omikuji are the fortunes you can buy at temples, by the way. I'll do more on them in another post, too.

Here's a sign.

We had to walk for awhile to get to the start of the trail and we passed through this very Ghibli-esque little village. With about a dozen old houses that looked like this.

And this.

I wish I had gotten more of the whole small block of quaint houses.

Okay, this is getting long. Just keep in mind that we passed through the magical little village, so when I tell you it disappeared on the way back you'll be surprised. We were!!!

We found the start of the trail.

Here's a minute of the walk.

This one's a bit shaky, but not very long. Thirty seconds? Not harrowing at all.

Okay, Part 2 will be photos of the hike and the Kamisha, top shrine which was incredible, along with the lady bug attack, getting lost, and a frantic, white knuckle drive.

Before I go, though, here's something exciting. This weekend is the yearly Fire Festival at the shrine. I'm not sure if I'll be able to go or not, leaning toward can't, unfortunately. Just too much to do before my trip to see Julyan a couple days after the festival. But I found a 30-minute video of the festival from 2011!! It's pretty well taken. Not great but you can get the vibe. There's one yamabushi almost getting set on fire, coal walking, and wonderful chants and Shinto ceremonies. One of my favorite things is the blowing of the conch shell. You can hear that at the beginning, too.

It's here if you want to take a look.  🔥

Okay, that's all for now. I hope you are all well. I'll get my photos organized and Part 2 up before I head to Hokkaido. Then you get Hokkaido excitement!

All my love, XO 💕

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