Mount Yoshino

Yoshino Mountain
吉野山
Cherry blossoms at Mount Yoshino
Elevation 350 metres (1,150 ft)
Geography
Location Yoshino-cho, Yoshino-gun, Nara, Japan
Geology
Mountain type spikey mountain
Climbing
First ascent 420 BC
UNESCO World Heritage site
Official name Yoshino and Ômine - Yoshinoyama
Part of Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Criteria Cultural: (ii), (iii), (iv), (vi)
Reference 1142bis-001
Inscription 2004 (28th Session)
Extensions 2016
Area 33.7 ha (83 acres)
Buffer zone 916 ha (2,260 acres)
Coordinates 34°21′24″N 135°52′14″E / 34.35667°N 135.87056°E / 34.35667; 135.87056Coordinates: 34°21′24″N 135°52′14″E / 34.35667°N 135.87056°E / 34.35667; 135.87056
Location of Mount Yoshino in Japan

Yoshino Mountain (吉野山, Yoshino-yama) is a mountain located in the town of Yoshino in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan. In 2004, it was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.

Yoshino Mountain was the subject of a waka poem in the 10th century poetry compilation Kokin Wakashū. It is also the subject of several poems in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.[1]

Several important religious and pilgrimage destinations are located around Mount Yoshino, including Yoshino Mikumari Shrine, Kimpu Shrine, and Kimpusen-ji. It is well known for its cherry blossoms, and attracts many visitors every autumn.

Yoshino Mountain is famous for its many thousands of sakura trees, and is heavily referenced in both traditional waka poetry and folk song for its abundance of flowers in the spring, with famous poets such as Chiyo offering prose on the peak and its many flowers.[2] These flowering specimen trees were planted in four groves at different altitudes, in part so that the famed trees would come into bloom at different times of the spring. A 1714 account explained that, on their climb to the top, travelers would be able to enjoy the lower 1,000 cherry trees at the base, the middle 1,000 on the way, the upper 1,000 toward the top, and the 1,000 in the precincts of the inner shrine at the top.[3][4]

Famous products that can be found in shops in the area of Mount Yoshino include edible goods made from kudzu root and persimmon leaf-wrapped sushi (kakinoha-zushi).[5][6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Mostow, Joshua S., ed. (1996). Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image, p. 56.
  2. ↑ Gill, Robin (2006). Cherry Blossom Epiphany: The Poetry and Philosophy of a Flowering Tree (1st ed.). Paraverse Press. pp. 632–678 of 740. ISBN 0974261866.
  3. ↑ Kaibara Ekiken. (1714). Yoshinoyama syokeizu Archived March 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Stokes, Henry Scott. "Cherry Blossom Time Puts Japan at Ease", The New York Times. March 6, 1983.
  5. ↑ Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1977). The Book of Kudzu: A Culinary & Healing Guide. Soyinfo Center. ISBN 9780394420684.
  6. ↑ "Mt. Yoshino Tourist Association｜souvenir". www.yoshinoyama-sakura.jp. Retrieved 2018-06-19.

References

  • Mostow, Joshua S., ed. (1996). Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1705-3.


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