Mount Osore
Encyclopedia
is a region in the center of remote Shimokita Peninsula
of Aomori Prefecture
, Japan
.
According to popular mythology, Mount Osore (literally "Mount Fear") marks the entrance to Hell
, with a small brook running to the neighboring Lake Usorisan that is equated to the Sanzu River
, a river that deceased souls needed to cross of their way to the afterlife. The reputation is not surprising, given that the very volcanically-active site is a charred landscape of blasted rock filled with bubbling pits of unearthly hues and noxious fumes.
The presides over it all and organizes the area's main event, the twice-yearly Itako Taisai festival. The grand festival is held over a period of five days beginning on July 20. In a ritual called , blind mediums known as itako
claim to summon the soul
s of the dead and deliver messages in their voices.
Shimokita Peninsula
The Shimokita Peninsula is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaidō. Administratively the area is a part of Aomori Prefecture....
of Aomori Prefecture
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
According to popular mythology, Mount Osore (literally "Mount Fear") marks the entrance to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, with a small brook running to the neighboring Lake Usorisan that is equated to the Sanzu River
Sanzu River
The Sanzu River , or River of Three Crossings, is a Japanese Buddhist tradition and religious belief similar to the River Styx...
, a river that deceased souls needed to cross of their way to the afterlife. The reputation is not surprising, given that the very volcanically-active site is a charred landscape of blasted rock filled with bubbling pits of unearthly hues and noxious fumes.
The presides over it all and organizes the area's main event, the twice-yearly Itako Taisai festival. The grand festival is held over a period of five days beginning on July 20. In a ritual called , blind mediums known as itako
Itako
An itako is a traditional, blind, usually female shaman from northern Japan.Itako are said to have the ability to communicate with the dead, even to evil spirits due to their intense spiritual power. They also are said to have the power to remove evil spirit from one's body and mind...
claim to summon the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
s of the dead and deliver messages in their voices.