Japan Heritage SiteThree Mountains of Dewa

19Gassan Shrine

Gassan Jinja

The deity worshipped at the top of Mt. Gassan is called Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. Amitābha, the Buddha in control of the afterlife, was enshrined there long ago. On the 13th of August every year, consecrated bonfires called saitōgoma are lit to send ancestral spirits home during the Saitō Festival.