is an important temple of the Shugendà  religion in the village of Tenkawa, Yoshino district, Nara prefecture, Japan. It is located at the Sanjà Âgatake peak of Mount à Âmine. Along with Kinpusen-ji, it is considered the most important temple in Shugendà Â. From the early Heian period to the present, women have been prohibited from entering the sacred mountain. The precincts were designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2002.
According to tradition, the temple was established in at the end of the 7th century by En no Gyà Âja, the founder of Shugendà Â, a form of mountain asceticism drawing from Buddhist and Shinto beliefs. The main hall is located near the summit of Sanjà Âgatake (1719.2 meters), located in the middle of the à Âmine Mountain Range, and enshrines Zaà  Gongen. While the main hall (Zaà Â-dà Â) of Kinpusen-ji on Mount Yoshino is called "Sange no Zaà Â-dà Â," the main hall of à Âminesan-ji is called "Yamagami no Zaà Â-dà Â." The two Zaà Â-dà  temples on the mountain and at the bottom of the mountain are more than 20 kilometers apart, and are now separate temples, but originally they were part of a single Shugendà  temple called "Kinpusen-ji." It was only in modern times that they were separated.
"Kinpusen-san" and "à Âmine-san" do not refer to individual peaks, but to the mountains as a place of faith and training. "Kinpusen-san" refers to the entire sacred mountain area from Mount Yoshino to Sanjà Âgatake, and the group of temples scattered there was collectively called "Kinpusen-ji." On the other hand, "à Âminesan" is a general term for the mountains of the à Âmine mountain range, including Mt. Daifugen, Mt. Misen, Mt. Hakkyogatake, and Mt. Shakagatake. The 80-kilometer road from Mt. Yoshino through the à Âmine mountain range to Kumano Hongà « Taisha in Tanabe, Wakayama is called the "à Âmine Okugake Trail" and is a training route for ascetic monks.
Much of the early history of à Âminesan-ji is unclear. In the Tenpyà  era (729-749), Gyà Âki is said to have carried out a major renovation, and by some legends say built Kinpusen-ji at the foot of the mountain as the Zaà Â-dà  Hall at the top of à Âminesan was difficult to access. Although they went into decline in the early Heian period, it was revived by the Shingon Buddhist monk Shà Âbà  (Rigen Daishi) at the end of the 9th century, and since the 10th century, it has been visited by many members of the imperial family and aristocrats. Fujiwara no Michinaga offered sutras in a gilt bronze container in Heian period buried in a mound near the mountain top, which was excavated and designated a National Treasure in August 11, 2007 During the Sengoku period, the main hall was burned down in a conflict with the Ikko sect, but it was rebuilt in the Edo period. In 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered Tenkai, a Tendai Buddhist monk (the founder of Kan'ei-ji in Edo and other temples), to become head of Kinpusen-ji and à Âminesan-ji. After the Meiji restoration, the Shinbutsu Bunri abolished the syncretic Shinto-Buddhist beliefs that had been practiced throughout the country for many centuries, and Shugendà  was officially suppressed. From 1871, the Meiji government declared Kinpusen-ji and à Âminesan-ji to be a Shinto shrine. In 1886, the Kinpusen-ji and à Âminesan-ji reverted to Buddhism, and the two locations were separated into Kinpusen-ji at the foot of the mountains and à Âminesan-ji at the top. In 2004, à Âminesan-ji was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
There is a ridge path from Mount Yoshino to the main hall of à Âminesan-ji, but general worshippers climb Sanjà Âgatake from Dorogawa in Tenkawa Village at the foot of the mountain. It takes about four hours on foot from Dorogawa. Even from the trailhead, à Âmine à Âhashi Bridge, it takes about three hours to climb one way. The sanctuary around the Sanjà Âgatake peak () has long been considered sacred in Shugendà Â, and women are not allowed in the area beyond four "gates" on the route to the peak. On the neighboring Inamuragatake peak (), altitude 1,726 m, it has been opened as a place of training for female believers since 1959, thus called .The mountain trail from à Âmine à Âhashi Bridge to the main hall of à Âminesan-ji is well-maintained, and several teahouses have been set up along the way. A short distance from à Âmine Oà Âhashi Bridge, past the ruins of Ichinose Teahouse and Ipponmatsu Teahouse, is a water source called "En no Gyoja Osuke Mizu." Further on is Dorotsuji Teahouse, where the trail joins with the à Âmine à Âkugake Trail from Mount Yoshino. Further ahead are two teahouses called Daranisuke Teahouse, built by a pharmacy at the foot of the mountain (which manufactures and sells a medicine called "Daranisukemaru"). All of the teahouses are built to cover the mountain trail, so it is always necessary to pass through the buildings. Beyond that are difficult chain sections (ascetic practice areas) called "Abura Koboshi," "Kanekakeiwa," and "Nishi no Nozoki." The most famous of these is the "Nishi no Nozoki" practice area, where pilgrims lean over the edge of a cliff with a safety rope. There are safe detours at all difficult sections. Behind the main hall is the "Ura no Gyojo," where pilgrims train without safety ropes on a cliff without chains. At Nishi no Nozoki, safety ropes are held by a guide, and entry to the Ura practice area is prohibited without the guidance of a guide.