What is "sanbutsu-ji"

is a Buddhist temple in the town of Misasa, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The of Sanbutsu-ji, built in the Heian period is designated a National Treasure of Japan.

By tradition Sanbutsu-ji was founded by the Buddhist ascetic and mystic of the late Asuka period monk En no Gyōja (ca. 634–701). En no Gyōja is considered the founder of Shugendō, a syncretic religion which incorporated aspects Old Shinto, Japanese folk animism and shamanism, Taoism and esoteric Buddhism of the Shingon Mikkyō and the Tendai sects.