Qualla: Mount Ryozen: Where Tengu Wrestle and Monks Once Prayed https://qualla.com/mount-ry-zen en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:40 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Mount Ryozen: Where Tengu Wrestle and Monks Once Prayed https://qualla.com/mount-ry-zen Mount Ryozen: Where Tengu Wrestle and Monks Once Prayed: Introduction https://qualla.com/mount-ry-zen/ Halfway up the trail, you reach a flat rock jutting westward from the cliff face -- smooth basalt the size of eight tatami mats, suspended over a valley of red and gold maples. According to local legend, this is where the tengu come to wrestle. The long-nosed mountain demons of Japanese folklore chose their arena well: Mount Ryozen, an 825-meter peak of volcanic basalt rising from the Abukuma Highlands of northern Fukushima, has drawn beings both mortal and mythical for over a thousand years. It is one of Japan's designated Places of Scenic Beauty, a National Historic Site, and a mountain whose trails wind through the ruins of a Buddhist temple and a doomed medieval castle -- all within a few hours' hike.

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]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/s/n/mount-ry-zen-wp/xnsn-mount-ryozen-where-tengu-wrestle-and-monks-once-pr-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Mount Ryozen: Where Tengu Wrestle and Monks Once Prayed: Named for a Mountain in India https://qualla.com/mount-ry-zen/ In 859, during the first year of the Jogan Era, the Tendai Buddhist monk Ennin founded a temple called Ryozen-ji on the mountain's slopes. The name Ryozen was adapted from Mount Ryojusen -- known in Sanskrit as Gridhakuta, or Vulture Peak -- the mountain in India where the Buddha...

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]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/s/n/mount-ry-zen-wp/xnsn-mount-ryozen-where-tengu-wrestle-and-monks-once-pr-named-for-a-mountain-in-india.mp3 0:06 2 full Mount Ryozen: Where Tengu Wrestle and Monks Once Prayed: A Castle Built for a Doomed Campaign https://qualla.com/mount-ry-zen/ Nearly five centuries after Ennin's temple was founded, the mountain became a fortress. In 1337, during the turbulent Nanbokucho period -- Japan's war between Northern and Southern imperial courts -- Kitabatake Akiie, the young governor of Mutsu Province and a champion of the Sou...

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]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/s/n/mount-ry-zen-wp/xnsn-mount-ryozen-where-tengu-wrestle-and-monks-once-pr-a-castle-built-for-a-doomed-campaign.mp3 0:06 3 full Mount Ryozen: Where Tengu Wrestle and Monks Once Prayed: The Trail and Its Spirits https://qualla.com/mount-ry-zen/ The hiking trail up Mount Ryozen passes through a gallery of volcanic geology and folklore. At Hojudai, a cliff-top viewpoint, the Abukuma and Azuma Mountain Ranges stretch to the horizon. At Kokushisawa, a rock face rises at a near-perfect right angle from the valley floor, reac...

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]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/s/n/mount-ry-zen-wp/xnsn-mount-ryozen-where-tengu-wrestle-and-monks-once-pr-the-trail-and-its-spirits.mp3 0:06 4 full Mount Ryozen: Where Tengu Wrestle and Monks Once Prayed: Autumn Fire on Basalt https://qualla.com/mount-ry-zen/ Mount Ryozen is part of the basalt volcanic plateau of the Abukuma Highlands, and its geology creates a dramatic canvas for what the mountain is perhaps most famous for: autumn foliage. Each October and November, the maples and deciduous trees that cling to the basalt cliffs erup...

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]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/s/n/mount-ry-zen-wp/xnsn-mount-ryozen-where-tengu-wrestle-and-monks-once-pr-autumn-fire-on-basalt.mp3 0:06 5 full