As a strategically important location between Kii, Izumi, and Kawachi provinces, Mt. Inunaki was in very close contact with the Southern Court. Due to the fact that some areas under the rule of the family of Masashige Kusunoki (Masayuki, Masatoki and Masayoshi Kusunoki) coincide with those under the yamabushi (mountain ascetics), the army corps consisted of both samurai and yamabushi from Kasagi, Yoshino, Kokawa, In-unaki and so on. In 1362, Masataka Hashimoto, who was the main war advocate in the Southern Court, invited Saint Shiitsu to Mt. Inunaki and built Fudo-do Hall. Saint Shiitsu rebuilt our tem-ple. He was a Buddhist priest renowned for his wisdom and knowledge. The reason why Masa-taka invited Saint Shiitsu to Mt. Inunaki was not only that Saint Shiitsu was pious, but also that Masataka wanted to capitalize on the powerful political influence of ascetic practitioners in Mt. Inunaki.

The relationship between Masataka Hashimoto and the yamabushi in Mt. Inunaki would continue to flourish. In August 1375, he had Saint Gansho offer 10,000 Buddhist scriptures and perform the ritual to pray for peace. He built fourteen “sobo,” or living quarters for monks, increasing the total to twenty. In a battle that broke out from November to December 1378, Masataka Hashimoto, in spite of his smaller mili-tary unit, successfully held Tsuchimaru Castle against enemy forces led by Ujiharu Hosokawa, Yorimoto Hosokawa and Yoshitada Yanama. This victory was thanks to the support from the yamabushi. In other words, they played an im-portant role in helping Masataka overcome his rivals. Though Masataka ultimately lost the con-flict and pulled back to Kii province, he returned in 1379 and reclaimed Tsuchimaru Castle. He raised an army there, but eventually lost and crossed the mountains to Izumi province in the summer. It is easy to imagine that the yamabushi played an important role in helping him cross the mountains.

In the Muromachi Period, as faith in the Kumano pilgrimage and Katsuragi Shugen-do became popular, our temple also flourished. A lot of old memorial towers still exist across the mountain. In this period, Tanemichi Kujo (1504～1558), the Kanpaku (Imperial adviser) and the Naidaijin (Minister of the Interior), visited our temple and composed a poem. Some courtiers also visited the mountain during this time.

In the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, also known as the Sengoku period (period of warring states), samurai warriors and local ruling clans struggled with each other seeking to expand their influence. Many mountains in Kinki area suffered from fire caused by war and most famous temples were in a tough situation. Also, Nobunaga Oda confiscated several hectares of our territory because things didn’t go as he had expected. In 1585, most of the Buddhist halls, including the main hall were burned down by fire caused by Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Later, however, Hideyosi donated some grains and rebuilt the Takibo (now Shukubo), giving 30 goku (equivalent to 4,500 kilos of rice) as an offering.

In the Edo Period, with the restoration of Shugen-do, our temple also flourished again. In 1652, Kannon-do Hall was built. During the Manji Period (1658-1661) the main hall was repaired, and the current stone bridge at the base of the main hall was built. More and more people came to show their profound faith, including Yukitaka Okabe, second lord of Kishiwada Domain, who donated rice paddy fields to the temple. In 1720, when the main hall was rebuilt, Yukiyasu Meshino, a wealthy merchant in Sano Domain, donated stone lanterns and Annen Hoshi com-piled a chronicle of the temple’s history. In 1793, Nagatomo Okabe, the eighth lord of Ki-shiwada Domain, donated stone lanterns, and ancestral tablets of the Okabe family were in-stalled. There are stone lanterns and milestones donated by devotees from Yamato Kishu, Edo, Osaka, Sakai, and Kishiwada regions, showing just how widespread devotion to Mt. Inunaki had become. In 1849, “Katsurei Zakki”, the only sur-viving historical document about Katsuragi Shugen-do, was written by Chikou at this tem-ple.