Dewa Sanzan's Shōjin Ryōri (Ascetic cuisine / Vegetarian Buddhist cuisine)

The Three Mountains of Dewa is a centre of Shugendo, a folk religion based on mountain worship, blending Buddhist and Shinto traditions. Shugendo practitioners, called Yamabushi (mountain monks), undergo training on the mountains. "Shojin Ryori", or ascetic cuisine on the Three Mountains of Dewa, mainly revolves around seasonal ingredients such as mountain herbs, wild vegetables and mushrooms that are gathered in the mountains. These foods are called "blessings of nature". The dishes are created with traditional and unique techniques of food preservation of these local ingredients that are also referred to as a "diet for life". "Shojin Ryori" has served as a tool for survival for pilgrim training in the mountains and has slowly integrated into people's everyday life.