The legend: a demon built 99 of the 100 steps in one night, and for being one short he was driven out.
Founded, according to tradition, in 727, with older legendary roots tied to an ambush involving Yamato Takeru and Empress Jingū. The shrine is linked to a local legend: a demon who ravaged the area at night was challenged by the kami Hachiman to build a hundred stone steps in a single night; he finished ninety-nine, dawn caught him, and the pact banished him for ever. Every New Year the Kamado Kagura, a ritual sacred dance, is held here.
The steps are still there and you can see the difference: the lower ones carefully made, the upper ones slapdash. The grounds also hold the ‘stone sandal’ that the demon is said to have lost as he fled. Address 別府市大字内竈1900.
ℹ️ Kamado Jigoku, on the map, is about 2 km away: you visit both in the same outing.
🚉 Kamegawa · 19 min walk
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The name contains the same 竈門 as Tanjirō's surname, but what makes it a pilgrimage site is the legend attached to it: a man-eating demon ravaged the village of Kamado every night, and the deity challenged him to build a hundred stone steps in a single night, in exchange for a yearly sacrifice; if he failed, he would never show himself again. The demon got to ninety-nine, and dawn put him to flight.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · travel.co.jp · cabosu.jp · bushikaku.net · hachimannkamado.sub.jp
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