After passing by the menacing Koma-inu guard dogs, we will finally reach Oku-sha.
Oku-sha is built just below the steep rock wall of Mt. Togakushi. When you try to look up at the top of the mountain, your neck naturally tilts back as if you’re admiring it. The jagged mountains look bigger than ever.
As mentioned before, Togakushi Shrine was a temple called "Kenkō-ji" before the Meiji period. It sounds similar to Zenkō-ji, but in Japanese Kanji characters, it is written as “the temple where the light appears” (光が顕れる寺). The origin of the name comes from a trainee named Gakumon, who established the mountain temple. One night, Gakumon threw a gold cane from Mt. Īzuna, which landed in a cave on what was the as-yet-unnamed Mt. Togakushi and shed bright light in the dark night. That story gave the Temple the name Kenkō-ji.
The light that appeared…That reminds us of the legend of Amano-Iwato. The deity of the Oku-sha is the one who opened the door of the cave and threw it into this land. Its name is Tajikarao (天手力雄命). They say there is no apparent connection between the legend of Gakumon and the legend of Amano-Iwato, so it might just be a coincidence. Perhaps, the image of faith overlaps because its roots are somehow connected.
The winter of Mt. Togakushi is brutal and keeps people away. These days, Oku-sha is closed during winter, and the gods are enshrined in Chū-sha until spring. The main building of Oku-sha is made of sturdy asphalt to prevent it from being crushed by an avalanche. Avalanches repeatedly destroyed Oku-sha before they built this main building.
Normally, temples and shrines are built in places that wouldn’t get damaged by natural disasters. The fact that Oku-sha still remains where the natural environment is severe emphasizes that this is a special place for training.
