Until around 150 years ago, Mount Rai, where the Sennyoji Daihioin temple sits, would have been filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of shrines and temples. Most sites of worship were home to both Buddhist and Shinto beliefs, and worked in harmony with each other for centuries. That came to an end during the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century. The imperial house preferred Shintoism, which favored the emperor’s ancestral lineage, while Buddhism was tied to the previous government. Shrines and temples across Japan were ordered to separate these beliefs, and…
