Mount Haguro Five-story Pagoda

Haguro-san Five-Story Pagoda is one of the oldest five-story pagodas in the Tohoku region, standing amid a cedar grove near the upper entrance of the “Ichin-zaka” slope on the Haguro-san pilgrimage path in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. According to tradition, it was originally founded by Taira no Masakado, and the present structure is said to have been rebuilt about 600 years ago during the Muromachi period. It rises to a height of 29.0 meters and is a three-bay, five-tiered, unpainted wooden structure with a bark-shingle roof. It was designated a National Treasure in 1966. Its simple beauty, unique to unpainted wood construction, and its harmony with the surrounding natural landscape are among its greatest charms.

Architectural Features and Value
The roof of Haguro-san Five-Story Pagoda is covered using “kokera-buki,” a traditional technique in which thin wooden boards are layered one over another. Even after many centuries, it retains its dignified appearance. Its design is not ornate but understated, quietly blending into the natural environment. Its status as a National Treasure also makes it an exceptionally valuable structure in the history of Japanese architecture, symbolizing the religious culture and aesthetic sensibilities of the Tohoku region.

Surrounding Environment and Highlights
Near the pagoda stands “Jijisugi,” a giant cedar tree said to be over 1,000 years old, with a trunk circumference of about 10 meters. This tree, together with the pagoda, creates an overwhelming presence and further enhances the sacred atmosphere. The surrounding cedar avenue, with trees over 350 years old, and the stone staircase of the pilgrimage route, totaling 2,446 steps, together form a solemn landscape unique to this sacred area.

Another attraction is the pagoda’s changing appearance with the seasons. In particular, the five-story pagoda wrapped in snow has an ethereal beauty that has captivated many pilgrims and tourists.

Faith in Dewa Sanzan and Haguro-san
Haguro-san is a mountain with an elevation of 414 meters and is one of the three mountains of Dewa Sanzan, along with Mount Gassan and Mount Yudono. Since ancient times, Dewa Sanzan has been revered as a mountain of ascetic practice, offering people a spiritual journey of death and rebirth known as the “journey of rebirth.” Haguro-san is regarded as the mountain that governs benefits in this world, and its relative closeness to the plains has made it widely worshiped. At the summit stands the “Dewa Sanzan Shrine Sanjin Gosaiden,” which enshrines the deities of all three mountains together in a single hall, a rare shrine in Japan where all three deities can be worshiped at one site.

Renovation Work and Important Notes
A large-scale restoration project for the roof of Haguro-san Five-Story Pagoda began in May 2023 and is scheduled to continue until around spring 2025. During this period, the pagoda will be covered, and there will be times when its exterior cannot be seen directly. In particular, construction was scheduled to take place from May 13 to September 30 in 2024. Once the work is completed, the pagoda is expected to reveal an even more robust and beautiful appearance.

Haguro-san Five-Story Pagoda is an historically and culturally important structure as one of the oldest five-story pagodas in the Tohoku region. Its rustic beauty, created by unpainted wood and a bark-shingle roof, together with the sacred landscape formed by the thousand-year-old Jijisugi and the cedar avenue, leaves a deep impression on visitors. As a place of spiritual significance connected to the faith of Dewa Sanzan, it offers a chance to experience the harmony of Japan’s traditional culture and nature.