Yahiko Jinja

Yahiko Jinja.

In the rice plains of Niigata, on the Sea of Japan side of the country, a single mountain rises from the flatness. Mount Yahiko. It is exactly 634 meters tall — the same height, by coincidence, as the Tokyo Skytree.

Locals do not call this mountain by its formal name. They call it, with affection, Oyahiko-sama. "Sama" is a respectful form of address, used when you speak to someone you love.

The mountain has been worshiped this way for over twenty-four centuries. Older than written records of Japan. Older than the country called Japan.

The shrine sits at the mountain's foot, simple and elegant, surrounded by an old forest. Behind the main hall, a path begins, leading up the mountain. You can walk it. Many do.

In the eighth century, a poem was written about this place, in the great anthology Manyoshu — Japan's oldest collection of poetry. It described deer sleeping in fur clothing on the mountainside in winter. Twelve hundred years later, the deer still come down from the slopes in cold weather.

The mountain has changed almost nothing. The poem's images, written in the 700s, still match what you see today.

This shrine is also one of the few in Japan where the bowing rule is unusual. Two bows, four claps, one bow.

Stand at the gate. Look up at the mountain.

In the local language, you would simply say, "Oyahiko-sama" — and bow.