KitayamaYakuozaka" on the mountain pass connecting Shizuhara and KuramaThe "yakozaka" is also called "yakko zaka" or "yakko zaka". It is also called "yakozaka" or "yakko zaka.

I have previously introduced the Night Crying Pass in Ninose. A "slope" or "pass" was both an entrance to a village and an exit. Also,The hill existed as a boundary, a place where a mountain pass separated the villages on both sides.

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For example, in Japanese mythologyYomotsuhirasaka" is the boundary between the afterlife and this world, the entrance to Hades.In Kyoto, too, there are "slopes" on the border between Rakuchu and Rakugai. Even in Kyoto, there are "slopes" on the border between Rakuchu and Rakugai, andIf you fall down on the Sannenzaka slope around Kiyomizu Temple, you will be killed within three years.Urban legends were also added to the list. from ancient times to the present day,The "hill" is a place close to the afterlife.It has been considered as a

The history of Yakuozaka, located on the border between Shizuhara and Kurama, is very old. It connected Enryaku-ji Temple on Eizan and Kurama-ji Temple in the shortest distance, and was a path for the monks of each to go back and forth.

The early Heian period figure, Dengyo Daishi Saicho, was a KuramaOn the way back to Mt. Hiei after building a statue of Yakuo Nyorai, he passed by this hill. At that moment, Yakuo appeared before my eyes.The name of the hill is said to be "the slope of the mountain". This is how the name of this slope came to be known.

During the Edo period (1603-1867), Kurama flourished as a trading center between Kyoto and Tamba, crowded with merchants and their oxen and horses. The villagers of Ohara and Shizuhara frequented this bustling market and used the road to buy daily necessities and clothing.

This time, I walked Yakuozaka from the Shizuhara no Sato side. There is an uphill entrance at the west end of the village, and a steep slope on a non-slip paved road welcomes you halfway up the trail.

Steep slope from Shizuhara side to the entrance of Yakuozaka

Several bungalow-like buildings can be seen, and when you come to the middle of the hillside,Stone Buddha erected at the base of a huge old red pine treeI came across a It is leaning forward a little, but it looks as if itsEmbraced by the roots of an old treeIt appears to be a small, but very large, building. The explanatory board reads"The Two Amitabha Tablet."It was.

inscription of two images of Buddha on a tablet

wooden tabletIt was built in the late Nanbokucho Period (late 14th century) by the wife of an ordained couple in mourning for her husband and praying for peace and happiness in their future lives.The granite slab monument is a carved image of two Amitabha Nyorai Buddha images. The granite monument has two Amitabha Nyorai figures in relief,Sitting there for about 600 years, withstanding the wind and snow.They continue to do so.

If a couple pays homage to this monument and crosses the hill together, they can live happily as a couple for a long time.I also hear that One never knows what dangers may be involved in crossing the boundary of a mountain pass. It seems that every time travelers crossed the hill, they prayed to the monument for their safety. The monument survived Typhoon No. 21, which caused extensive damage in Kyoto last September (2018) and is still standing.

By the way, there is a scene in "The Tale of the Heike" in which Emperor Go-Shirakawa crosses Yakuozaka. The description of the slope describes it as a steep and difficult place. When we actually climbed up the slope, we found that the path was well trodden, but it was dark even in the daytime because of the shadows of trees covering the path from both sides. There was no view, and the only sound was that of the sound of falling leaves. It was like walking in a different world.Many such places remain in the mountain passes and hills of KyotoIt is also surprising.

View of Yakuo Slope

Jizo-san enshrined near the Yakuozaka Pass

A sign marking the boundary between Kurama and Shizuhara near the Yakuozaka mountain pass.

In the past, people from all walks of life crossed the Yakuo-zaka slope, but now only hikers pass by. The Yakuo-zaka slope was once crossed by people from all walks of life, but now only hikers pass by,They will continue to watch over the safety of those who come and go as they have in the past.I guess that's what I'm talking about.

Descend Yakuo-zaka slope to the Kurama side. Kurama townscape