Mount Miwa

Mount Miwa in Sakurai, Nara, rises to 467 meters and is venerated as the deity body of Omononushi no Okami, worshipped through Omiwa Shrine, the ichinomiya of former Yamato Province. The mountain preserves an archaic form of pre-shrine rock-altar worship that continues to the present day. Three magnetic-rock altars (iwakura) — Hetsu Iwakura, Nakatsu Iwakura and Okitsu Iwakura — are sited within the sacred mountain area. Climbing is permitted only from Sai Shrine on the lower slope and is restricted by ritual rules. Kojiki (712 CE) records that Omononushi appeared as the luminous spirit of Okuninushi crossing the sea and asked to be enshrined on the "mountain on the eastern green-fence of Yamato." Nihon Shoki (720 CE) identifies Omononushi as a name of Okuninushi. Omiwa Shrine has no main hall, instead facing the mountain through a triple torii. Engishiki Jinmyocho (927 CE) lists "Omiwa Omononushi Jinja, Myojin-Taisha." The April 9 Hana-shizume rite is a National Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property.