Gassan, revered as a sacred peak for 1,400 years, is where ancestral spirits are said to reside. Our explorer joins worshippers who climb to be with the dead. You go to a church, you go to a ...

In a small community at the foot of the famous Mt. Gassan in the northern prefecture of Yamagata, four women in their 80s work together in a popular soba-noodle restaurant. Many people come a long ...

Mt. Haguro represents the world of the present, Mt. Gassan the past, and Mt. Yudono the future. They collectively represent the cycle of life and a spiritual place accommodating deities and ancestors.