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Meaning

the decisive battle

The crucial turning point that decides victory or defeat, or one's fate. Often used of a big match in sports.

Example

この三連戦が優勝争いの天王山になる。

This three-game series will be the decisive stretch of the pennant race.

Origin

Tennōzan is a mountain in Ōyamazaki, Kyoto Prefecture. In Tenshō 10 (1582), at the Battle of Yamazaki at its foot, Hashiba Hideyoshi defeated Akechi Mitsuhide. Taking this mountain is said to have decided the outcome, so it became a figure for the turning point of a contest. There is also a view, however, that occupying the mountain did not actually matter much.

Sources