Kamado Shrine

This guide to Kamado Shrine on Mount Homan near Fukuoka opens with the mountain's odd name, taken from the clay kitchen stove its morning mist resembles. It traces the mountain's role guarding the unlucky northeast corner of the ancient regional government at Dazaifu, and the seventh-century monk Shinren who is said to have encountered a goddess here during ascetic practice. You'll hear how households for generations kept hearth charms tracing back to this stove-shaped peak. Look up at the ridge disappearing into cloud as you climb.