S P O T ／ SPOT-069

Kongōshō-ji Okunoin (Stupa-Lined Inner Sanctuary of Asama Peak)

朝熊岳金剛證寺 奥之院あさまだけこんごうしょうじ おくのいん

Kongōshō-ji sits atop Mount Asama, the peak that guards the northeast — the unlucky 'demon gate' direction — of Ise Grand Shrine, and a centuries-old proverb still circulates in Ise: 'A pilgrimage to Ise that doesn't include Asama is only half a pilgrimage.' Beyond the temple's main hall, a forested path climbs further to the okunoin, the inner sanctuary, and it is on this path that visitors encounter one of the most unusual sacred landscapes in Japan: a corridor lined with tens of thousands of towering wooden stupas (sotoba), each erected by a bereaved family in memory of a deceased relative. The Ise-Shima region has a unique funeral custom (take-mairi) in which families ascend Mount Asama in the weeks after a death and plant a large stupa here, often three or more meters tall, leaving the dead in the care of the mountain. The cumulative effect — a forest of inscribed wooden posts, weathering at different rates, packed densely along the path — is one of the most moving expressions of Japanese mortuary practice still visibly active in the 21st century. Treat with reverence; this is a living funerary site, not a sightseeing curiosity.