Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture: Dewa Sanzan Shrine, August 6-8, 2011, Training Dojo The Dewa Sanzan refers to the three mountains of Haguro (414m), Gassan (1,984m), and Yudono (1,504m) in the Shonai region of Yamagata Prefecture. As a center for mountain worship, primarily Shugendo, it continues to attract many practitioners and visitors. The sacred object of Yudono-san, the innermost part of the Dewa Sanzan, is a spiritual rock formation (reigan) resembling a woman's private parts. The hot water flowing from its summit pours into the Bonji River, eventually becoming the Akagawa River, which nourishes the land of the Shonai Plain and flows into the Sea of Japan. Since the discovery of this mysterious rock, the belief in being reborn and receiving new life through the merciful Yudono Okami of the sacred mountain, after being named Yudono-san, was a natural progression for the Japanese people. Receiving the divine protection of the gods residing in the mountains, and having been given new life through the solemn act of our parents, the belief that our souls return to the mountains after death, combined with the introduction of Buddhism from China in the mid-6th century, led to the fusion of Shinto and Buddhism, becoming Shugendo, which captured the hearts of the common people and flourished. Even today, people who resonate with this ideology gather from all over the country at the Dewa Sanzan Shrine's training dojo to experience the practice of Yamabushi (mountain asceticism). 226 slides, running time 19 minutes. [Note] For MS-Windows compatible computers. It will not work on a DVD player connected to a TV. You can watch it on a TV screen by connecting your computer to the TV with an HDMI cable and switching to external input.