places Categories: Attractions and Mountains
Yoshino Mountain is a mountain located in the town of Yoshino in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan. In 2004, it was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.Yoshino Mountain was the subject of a waka poem in the 10th century poetry compilation Kokin Wakashū. It is also the subject of several poems in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
Several important religious and pilgrimage destinations are located around Mount Yoshino, including Yoshino Mikumari Shrine, Kimpu Shrine, and Kimpusen-ji. It is well known for its cherry blossoms, and attracts many visitors every autumn.
Yoshino Mountain is famous for its many thousands of sakura trees, and is heavily referenced in both traditional waka poetry and folk song for its abundance of flowers in the spring, with famous poets such as Chiyo offering prose on the peak and its many flowers. These flowering specimen trees were planted in four groves at different altitudes, in part so that the famed trees would come into bloom at different times of the spring. A 1714 account explained that, on their climb to the top, travelers would be able to enjoy the lower 1,000 cherry trees at the base, the middle 1,000 on the way, the upper 1,000 toward the top, and the 1,000 in the precincts of the inner shrine at the top.
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