Tsujinobō Cemetery

This is the cemetery of Tsujinobō, one of the three lodges of Murayama.

Tsujinobō is mentioned in a 1533 (Tenbun 2) document issued by Imagawa Ujiteru as “Tsujibō, deputy for the temple affairs of Fujisan Kōbōji.” The record confirmed the lodge’s shrine lands and offerings, including the portions set aside for the yamabushi under its authority. This is regarded as the first case of the Imagawa bringing Murayama under their control. During the Tenbun era, Tsujinobō held lands in areas such as Murayama, Kikiriyama, Kaminari (Kannari), and Awakura jointly with Chiseibō. In 1551 (Tenbun 20), Katsurayama Sukerokurō assumed the leadership of Tsujinobō with confirmation from Imagawa Yoshimoto, and the Katsurayama family retained the position from that point on. The family initially entrusted daily rituals to a deputy monk, but around the start of the Edo period, they appear to have become shugen practitioners themselves. The lodge’s historical records survive today under the title Former Tsujibō Katsurayama Family Documents.

Of the three lodges, Tsujinobō served as bettō of the Sengen shrine (the Shichisha Sengen) at Murayama Sengen Shrine. Chiseibō managed the Dainichi Hall, while Daikyōbō oversaw the Daitōryō Gongen. The three lodges assisted one another during festivals, but they also frequently clashed and competed for influence. Under Tsujinobō were four yamabushi, five shrine attendants, and other personnel; during festivals, its officials also filled roles as chanters, archers, and bearers of white staffs. The lodge’s residence stood on the left side of the trail.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi granted Tsujinobō 75 koku, divided into parcels of 25 koku each within Murayama, Kikiriyama, and Kannari. Later, in 1641 (Kan’ei 18), a vermilion-seal document from Tokugawa Iemitsu granted the lodge 94.5 koku. The three lodges traveled to the shogunate to offer New Year greetings. In the year of its turn, a lodge traveled up to Edo Castle on the fifteenth day of the second month to present its congratulations. This duty originally rotated every three years, but starting in 1732 (Kyōhō 17), it took place every six years.

During the Bunsei era, the lodge was left without a priest following the death of its head. From 1829 (Bunsei 12), Daishōin of Ōkubo in Edo assumed management of the lodge as well. Daishōin served as the furegashira, or official liaison temple, for the Honzan school of Shugendō.

Today, only the cemetery remains. Rows of moss-covered stone monuments stand on the grounds, alongside an informational sign showing the layout of the three Murayama lodges.