Futago-ji

Mt. Futago, 721 metres high, rises in the middle of the Kunisaki peninsula, and some 28 valleys fall away from it to the sea like spokes. The Tendai temples spread through those valleys go by the name Rokugo Manzan, and under the protection of Usa Hachiman they grew into a faith that joined Buddhism with the native kami. At their height the peninsula held 185 temples and about 800 halls, caves and lodgings, with stone Buddhas all over the hills.

Futago-ji stands halfway up the mountain and served as the root training hall for mountain practice. From the Edo period it ran the whole Rokugo Manzan. The separation of Buddhism and Shinto at the start of Meiji, the war years and disasters wore down its halls, and the priests and parishioners have kept it going since.

The grounds lie inside the Setonaikai National Park and are an Oita prefectural historic site. New spring leaves and the autumn maples draw the most visitors.