Mount Mitake: The Quiet Shrine Settlement Above Tokyo
It is said to be rare for a mountain this close to a capital to keep its sanctity after the visitors arrive. Reading its history, Mount Mitake seemed to us exactly such a place: a summit village of hereditary priests, a shrine with seven centuries of paperwork, and an approach under ancient cedars. This portrait draws on a single scholarly book about the mountain and its shrine, and it seemed right to let that book speak throughout.