Risshakuji (Yamadera)

About Risshakuji (Yamadera)

Risshakuji (立石寺), properly Hojusan Risshakuji and popularly called Yamadera, is a Tendai temple at Yamadera, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, founded by tradition in 860 by Jikaku Daishi at the wish of Emperor Seiwa, whose central hall near the trailhead (designated 1908) and miniature pagoda in a cave near the Okunoin (designated 1952) are two Important Cultural Property structures (Yamadera Tourist Association, Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The temple says that at its founding it received a share of the eternal flame lit by Dengyo Daishi at Enryakuji, and it keeps incense burning and sutra copying for its founder. It is owned by Risshakuji (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Two Structures

The Chudo (Konpon Chudo), said to have been rebuilt in the Shohei era (1346 to 1370), is the oldest building of the temple: five bays square with a copper hip-and-gable roof, a three-bay inner sanctuary behind a two-bay worship space, and bold Momoyama-style carving on the canopy (Yamagata Prefecture). It holds a hidden seated Yakushi and the eternal flame (Risshakuji).

The miniature pagoda, 2.5 metres high, stands in a cave cut into the cliff at the subtemple Kezoin near the summit of the Okunoin, and an inscription on its finial dates it to around 1519. With three-stepped brackets on every storey, it is a finely crafted piece blending traditional Japanese and Zen styles (Yamagata Prefecture).

A Temple Spread over a Rock Mountain

According to the Yamadera Tourist Association, more than 800 steps climb from the trailhead to the Okunoin, past the Semizuka mound where Matsuo Basho wrote his haiku on the silence and cicadas, the Founder's Hall and sutra repository, and the Godaido with its view over the valley. The Chudo stands near the trailhead, and the miniature pagoda at Kezoin on the way to the Okunoin (Yamadera Tourist Association, Yamagata Prefecture).

Visiting and Location

According to Risshakuji, admission is 500 yen for adults (junior high and up) and 200 yen for children aged four and over, cash only. Hours vary by season: 8:00 to 16:00 from April to September and 8:00 to 15:30 in October and November. More than 800 stone steps lead from the trailhead to the Okunoin, about an hour and a half up and down (Risshakuji, Yamadera Tourist Association).

The address is 4456-1 Yamadera, Yamagata City.