Tanzan Shrine

Tanzan Shrine stands in the mountains of Tonomine in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. It enshrines Fujiwara no Kamatari, a key figure of the Taika Reforms and the ancestor of the Fujiwara clan. Tradition dates its founding to 678. Until the separation of Shinto and Buddhism it was a powerful Shinto-Buddhist temple called Tonomine Myorakuji, and it took its present name in 1869.

The highlight is the thirteen-story pagoda, the only surviving wooden pagoda of its kind in the world. It was rebuilt in 1532 and is an Important Cultural Property, together with the main hall, worship hall and tower gate. Many of the buildings have cypress-bark roofs that look especially beautiful among spring cherry blossoms and autumn leaves.

The shrine holds a Maple Leaf Festival each autumn and the Autumn Kemari (ancient court football) Festival on November 3. Allow about one to one and a half hours. From Sakurai Station it takes roughly 25 minutes by bus, and the site is close to Ishibutai Tumulus and Asuka-dera Temple.