Futarasan-jinja Shrine 二荒山神社

Mt. Nantai’s other name is key to understanding why the mountain range where these shrines and temples are located is called “Nikko.” When the renowned Buddhist priest Kukai (774–835) visited the area in 820, he is said to have coined the new name from the two Chinese kanji characters that make up the word Futara. They mean “two” and “rough,” and combined can be read as either “futara” or “nikko.” Based on the second reading, Kukai rewrote the name with new characters meaning “sunlight,” in referring to Dainichi Nyorai, the Great Sun Buddha, who is the main deity of the Tendai and Shingon Esoteric sects of Buddhism.

Historically, religious practice in the Nikko mountains was a syncretic mix of esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and the mountain religion known as Shugendo. As a result of a country-wide government order to separate Shinto and Buddhism in 1868, Futarasan-jinja, Toshogu Shrine, and Rinnoji Temple became separate entities in 1871, abandoning centuries of closely integrated religious practice.

Futarasan-jinja includes a shrine located at the top of Mt. Nantai as well as Chugushi Shrine, which is located on the northeast shore of Lake Chuzenji. Shinkyo Bridge, Kegon Falls, and the steep Iroha Slope, which is famed for its maple trees, are owned by Futarasan-jinja.