Shugendō

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practitioners (Shugenja) in the mountains of Kumano, Mie (Kōshō Tateishi)

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Statue of En no Gyōja, the founder of . Kamakura period, c. 1300–1375, Kimbell Art Museum.

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Stairs on the way to Ōminesan-ji, the holy site of

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Fudō Myōō silk scroll from Daigo-ji (Kyoto), a major Shingon temple and site

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Zaō Gongen, a key deity in , in Kinpusen-ji Temple

is a syncretic Esoteric Buddhist religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn primarily from Esoteric Buddhism, local folk-religious practices, Shinto, mountain worship, and Taoism. The final purpose of is for practitioners to find supernatural power and save themselves and the masses by conducting religious training while treading through steep mountain ranges. Practitioners are called or . The mountains where is practiced are all over Japan, and can span multiple mountains within one range such as the Ōmine mountain range with Mount Hakkyō and Mount Ōmine or the Ishizuchisan mountain range with Kamegamori and Tengudake.

The worldview includes a large pantheon of deities (which include Buddhist and Shinto figures). Some of the most important figures are the tantric Buddhist figures of Fudō Myōō and Dainichi Nyorai. Other key figures are , which are considered to be manifestations of Buddhas sometimes as Japanese kami. is one of the most important gongen in .

History

evolved during the seventh century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local folk-religious practices, Shinto mountain worship and Buddhism. The seventh-century ascetic and mystic En no Gyōja is widely considered as the patriarch of , having first organized as a doctrine. literally means "the path of training and testing" or "the way to spiritual power through discipline." Some practitioners were said to be descendants of the Kōya Hijiri monks of the eighth and ninth centuries.

From the ninth century, elements of Vajrayana Buddhism such as Shingon and Tendai Buddhism were taken into and it developed further. In the Heian period, it became very popular among the nobles living in Kyoto to visit Kumano Sanzan (three major shrines, Kumano Hongū Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha), which was the common holy place of , Shinto and Buddhism.

The Meiji government, which erected a barrier between Shinto and Buddhism, ruled that was unacceptable because of its amalgamation of the two religions, and officially forbade it in 1872. With the advent of religious freedom in Japan after World War II, was revived.

In 1907, Template:Interlanguage link and his team successfully climbed Mount Tsurugi, which was regarded as the last unclimbed mountain in Japan. However, they found a metal cane decoration and a sword on the top of the mountain, and it turned out that someone had reached the top before them. A later scientific investigation revealed that the metal cane decoration and sword dated from the late Nara period to the early Heian period and that shugenja had climbed Mount Tsurugi more than 1,000 years ago.

The Ōmine mountain range, which stretches 100 km from north to south and connects Yoshino and Kumano, was historically the biggest practice place of . The highest peak of the Ōmine mountain range is Mount Hakkyō at an altitude of 1915 m, and there are 75 places for ascetic practices along the mountain trail, and Ōminesan-ji Temple at the top of Mount Ōmine at an altitude of 1719 m is considered to be the highest sacred site of . At present, the Ōmine mountain range is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range" and Yoshino-Kumano National Park.

In modern times, is practiced mainly through Shingon and Tendai temples.

Practices

According to Miyake Hitoshi, rituals include "festivals, fortunetelling, divination, prayers and incantations, exorcism, spells, charms and so forth." Hitoshi describes the main worldview which informs praxis as one which:

assumes the existence of at least two realms of existence, that of the daily lives of human beings, and a separate, supernatural spiritual realm behind, and which controls that of the daily lives of human beings. The mountains are seen either as a sacred space which is part of both of these worlds, or is seen to actually be a part of the spiritual world. The altar space during the fire ceremony, or the area of a matsuri, is also considered to be this kind of sacred space.

The tantric Buddhist deity Fudō Myōō (Sanskrit: , "Immovable") plays a central role in the cosmology practice. Another important Buddha is Dainichi Nyorai (大日如来，Mahavairocana). The pantheon also includes numerous other Buddhist, Shinto and local religious figures.

The most important practices are . In , sacred mountains are seen as a supernatural home of numerous deities and as a symbol of the entire universe. According to Hitoshi, "the central element which forms both of these rituals is the symbolic action exhibited in a state of identification with the central deity Fudō Myōō." The main source of the shugenja's spiritual power generally understood to be Fudō Myōō and a shugenja gains the ability to use Fudō Myōō's power through mountain practices.

There are three main forms of mountain practice according to Miyake Hitoshi:

• "Entering the mountain to make offerings of flowers, read or bury sutras, and so forth, in honor of various buddhas or other deities, based on the belief that the mountain is a sacred area like a mandala."
• "Entering the mountain for a certain period of time," a kind of mountain retreat during which yamabushi do various ascetic practices and receive esoteric knowledge and initiations. Hagurosan Kotakuji Shozenin is exemplary in retaining pre-modern elements of this practice.
• The most severe and advanced nyūbu is the wintertime retreat in the mountains. This is said to confer special spiritual powers.

esoteric initiations are called and are unique to tradition (but are based on Vajrayana Buddhist abhiseka ceremonies).

Another important practice is the demonstration of magical and spiritual powers (genjutsu, 験 術). Such displays may include fire walking, walking on swords, and entering boiling water.

Yet another important religious practice in is various which includes making offerings to deities (such as Fudō Myōō and Zaō Gongen) as well as the chanting of sutras.

practitioners also take part in Shinto festivals (matsuri, 祭) and make offerings to kami.

Other practices which are part of include the following:

• fortunetelling and divination (bokusen)
• obtaining oracles through mediums (fujutsu)
• obtaining oracles through mediums that have been possessed by a deity (yori kitō, 憑祈禱)
• fire ceremonies for averting misfortunes (sokusai goma), usually focused around Fudō Myōō
• using incantations (kaji) for a specific purpose
• spells and charms (fuju, majinai), used for healing, childbirth, protection and so on. These may be inscribed on amulets.
• exorcism (tsukimono otoshi) for healing purposes

ritualists also practice different rituals, prayers and ceremonies associated with particular deities (shosonbō, 諸尊法) including the buddhas Yakushi and Amida, the bodhisattvas Monju, Kokuzo and Kannon as well as Indian deities like Benzai-ten and Japanese Kami like Inari, and Daikoku.

Notable sites

The following are notable sites associated with , many of which serve as popular pilgrimage destinations.

• Mount Ōmine 大峰山 is a major pilgrimage site that caters to multiple sects. Primary temple: Ominesan-ji Temple 大峰山寺 which is managed by both the Shingon and Tendai based traditions at different times annually.
• Mount Kinpusen 金峯山 is home to the Shugen-shu sect. Its primary temples is Kinpusen-ji Temple 金峯山寺. The mountain is associated with the deity Kongō Zaō Gongen 金剛蔵王権現.
• Ishizuchisan 石鎚山 consists of three primary mountains for training. Principal deities Ishizuchi Kongo Zaō Dai Gongen 石鎚金剛蔵王大権現, Acala, Rāgarāja, Kangiten, and Hōkibō Daitengu 法起坊大天狗. Primary temple: Gokurakuji 極楽寺, home of the Ishizuchisan Shingon and Shugendo sect..
• Mount Kongō 金剛山 is home to the Katsuragi Shugen school of . Its primary temple is Tenporin-ji 転法輪寺. The mountain is associated with the deity Hōki Daibosatsu 法起大菩薩.
• Mount Haku: Gozenpō 御前峰, Ōnanjimine 大汝峰, Bessan 別山, Kengamine 剣ヶ峰, Ōkurayama 大倉山, and Sannomine 三ノ峰 peaks.
• Sanyama-sama 三山様: the three mountains of Dewa Sanzan 出羽三山, wghich are Mount Haguro 羽黒山, Mount Gassan 月山, Mount Yudono 湯殿山 and are associated with Avalokiteśvāra, Amitābha, Mahāvairocana. Primary temple: Hagurosan Kōtakuji Shōzenin 羽黒山荒沢寺正善院.
• Mount Minō 箕面山 (near Osaka) in the Ikoma Mountains
• Shōgoin of the Honzan Shugen-shu sect located in Kyōto city. Associated with the deity Acala.
• Takisanji Temple 滝山寺 (Tendai Sect) in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture
• Mount Ontake (also called Kiso Ontake, overlooking the Kiso Valley in Aichi Prefecture)
• Mount Mitoku (Mitokusan) Sanbutsu-ji Temple 三徳山三仏寺 in Tottori Prefecture

Gallery

• Yamabushi on the Ōmine Okugakemichi near Yoshino (Japan)
  Yamabushi on the Ōmine Okugakemichi near Yoshino (Japan)
• Ascetic waterfall exercise supervised by a monk at Shippōryū-ji Temple (七宝瀧寺)
  Ascetic waterfall exercise supervised by a monk at Shippōryū-ji Temple (七宝瀧寺)
• Contemporary yamabushi
  Contemporary yamabushi
• Mount Kongo (Kongosanchi) shugenja
  Mount Kongo (Kongosanchi) shugenja

See also

• Konpira Gongen
• Kaihōgyō
• Mikkyō
• Milarepa
• Mount Hatsuka
• Mount Hiei
• Mount Ōfuna
• Mount Ōmine
• Onmyōdō
• Sokushinbutsu

External links

• Website for head temple Shōgoin
• Website for head temple Kinpusenji
• Website for head temple Gokurakuji
• Website for head temple Daigoji
• Head Temple Takao-san Yakuo-in Central Training Center in Kanto
• A Look at Japanese Ascetic Practice
• 天台寺門宗｜修験道
• Shugen: The Autumn Peak of Haguro Shugendo
• Mount Fuji and Shugendo
• Shugendo article in Buddhism & Shinto in Japan: A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Religious Sculpture & Art
• Shugendo – History of Japan Database