Topics & Themes

Shugendo practitioners climb the sacred mountain where gods are said to reside

The Mysticism of Shugendo that Remains in Modern Japan

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The secret of the soul embraced by the mountains, known only to the Japanese

Deep within the hearts of the Japanese people lies a profound reverence for mountains that dates back to ancient times.
When we gaze upon the majestic Mount Fuji or feel drawn to the mountain ranges of Kii, we sense a sacred power there.
Mountains were a source of blessings, a place where ancestral spirits returned, and a dwelling for the gods.
This universal feeling is a thread that runs through the lives of people today.
However, many Japanese people remain largely unaware of Shugendo, the practice at the very root of this mountain worship.

This article aims to go beyond a simple historical account.
It seeks to emotionally portray the extreme physical and spiritual challenges undertaken by people known as yamabushi, or “mountain priests,” and the state of enlightenment they strive for.
The core secret this article explores is the very contradiction between a vague appreciation for mountain worship and a profound ignorance of Shugendo’s deeper essence.
By using words like “secret” and “mysticism,” the reader is invited to open a door to a deeper world they didn’t know existed, leading them on a mysterious journey into the depths of this culture – a journey that will guide their own soul toward the mountains.

Table of Contents

The Meeting Place of Gods and Buddhas – The Epic History of Shugendo

An Ancient Spirit and a Legendary Founder

The history of Shugendo begins with the ancient nature worship that permeated the mountains of the Japanese archipelago.
Ancient people saw mountains as the realm of the gods and the sacred resting place of ancestral spirits, and they held them in awe and reverence.
When Buddhism arrived in Japan and traveling monks and practitioners of Taoism began to enter the mountains, this indigenous Japanese belief gradually began to merge with these foreign philosophies.

The figure who embodies this great fusion of faiths is En no Gyoja (En no Ozunu), the legendary founder of Shugendo.
Though he is said to have lived during the Nara period, his life is shrouded in legend.
It is said that after practicing in the Katsuragi Mountains of Yamato and receiving the secret teachings of Nagarjuna Bodhisattva, he was inspired to manifest the wrathful deity Fudo Myoo as the principal deity to save the people in a degenerate age.
En no Gyoja can be seen as the crystallization of the shared spirituality of individual practitioners who practiced in the mountains before the religion was formalized into an organization.
His existence embodies the historical inevitability of Shugendo taking root in Japan.

A Unique Faith Woven from Esoteric Buddhism and Shinto

Shugendo is not a single sect established on a specific doctrine by a founder.
It is a uniquely Japanese religion that organically fused a diverse array of beliefs – Japanese mountain worship, Buddhism (especially Esoteric Buddhism), Shinto, Taoism, and Onmyodo (the Way of Yin and Yang).
It is a path that values “action and experience” rather than just reading scriptures, incorporating the chanting of mantras, the burning of ritual fires (goma), and traversing the mountains.
This complex fusion is so multifaceted and profound that one Shugendo practitioner once humorously described it as “a unique religion that feels like mixing Japanese curry rice with cheese and adding miso ramen on the side.”

From the Middle Ages to the early modern period, Shugendo practitioners formed groups, and temples began to organize the practice.
Two major traditions emerged: the Tozan-ha of the Shingon sect (under the Daigo Sanbo-in) and the Hon-zan-ha of the Tendai sect (under the Shogoin).
Both traditions adopted Esoteric Buddhism as their foundation and formalized their doctrines around the central tenet of achieving enlightenment in this very body through mountain practices.

From the Mountains to the Villages – Yamabushi Who Stood with the Common People

Yamabushi were not hermits who merely stayed in the mountains.
They were “traveling religious figures” who were based at specific sacred temples and shrines but traveled through various sacred mountains.
These practitioners, whose name literally means “those who lie prostrate in the mountains,” used the spiritual power they gained through their mountain training to assist the lives of ordinary people in the villages.

The roles of the yamabushi were diverse.
They served as sendatsu (guides) who spread mountain worship and led people to sacred sites.
They also performed prayer rituals and used their spiritual powers to ward off sickness and disaster.
Furthermore, their travels across the country meant they brought new knowledge and culture (such as traditional dances like kagura and sword dances) to the villages and sometimes even taught children in schools.
The fact that they occasionally served as spies during times of war shows that they were not isolated from society but deeply rooted within it.
In this way, the yamabushi were at once “sacred beings” set apart from the secular world and “neighbors” who responded to the practical needs of the people. This dual nature, being both “half-secular and half-sacred,” allowed Shugendo to deeply penetrate the lives of the common people, enabling its spirit to survive even after the anti-Buddhist movement of the Meiji period.

The Meiji Storm and a Prayer for Revival – Overcoming a History of Hardship

Haibutsu Kishaku – The Tragedy of a Time that Divided Faith

In the history of Japan, Shugendo faced one of its most severe trials.
The Meiji government’s Ordinance on the Separation of Shinto and Buddhism and the Order for the Abolition of Shugendo Sects in 1872 denied the long-standing syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism and effectively banned mixed faiths like Shugendo.

This storm swept across the country’s sacred mountains.
Many temples and Buddhist statues deeply connected to Shugendo were destroyed.
In sacred sites like Katsuragi, Hikosan, and the Dewa Sanzan, even the practice halls and sutra mounds were left in ruins.
One practitioner spoke of the “conflict” he felt when he was forced to destroy his own statue of the deity Fudo Myoo.
This tragedy was not just the destruction of cultural artifacts; it shook people’s spiritual identity and erased clues that would allow them to trace their own personal roots.

However, this wave of destruction was not uniform across the country.
In regions like the Satsuma Domain, where the parish system had been largely non-functional due to the administrative system and a lack of public will to protect temples, the shrines were abolished without much resistance.
In contrast, in regions where faith was more deeply rooted, the practice was outwardly dismantled, but rigorous training continued secretly in the deep mountains, and teachings were passed down quietly from master to disciple.
This shows that the strength of faith depended not just on doctrine but on the physical and social ties between people and temples, and a true spirituality forged through practice.

The Secret Teachings That Seemed to Have Vanished, and a Spirit Passed from Master to Disciple

It seemed that Shugendo had been completely wiped out by the Meiji storm.
But its lifeblood was not severed; it continued in the hearts of the people and on the quiet paths of the deep mountains.
After the war, Shugendo centers across Japan, such as Kinpusen-ji Temple and Katsuragi Shugendo, began a full-scale revival.
They ventured back into the ruined mountains, searching for paths to lost practice sites and locating buried sutra mounds to return them to their original places – an effort that seemed like an attempt to resurrect the very soul of the practice.

Kinpusen-ji Temple, which was saved from abandonment by strong faith, is now the head temple of the Kinpusen Shugendo sect and a central hub for practitioners nationwide.
This revival was not simply about rebuilding structures. It was a grand narrative of prayer, healing a spiritual disconnection in Japan and reawakening the history and memories of the people tied to that land.
The revival of Shugendo proves the existence of a true faith, forged through practice, that secular power cannot extinguish.

The Reality of the Modern “Yamabushi” – A Challenge to the Limits of Body and Spirit

The “Salaryman Yamabushi” – Living Between the Mundane and the Sacred

Modern Shugendo practitioners are no longer isolated from the secular world.
The lifestyle of the “salaryman yamabushi” exists, where a person works as a life insurance salesperson during the week and practices in the mountains on their days off, wearing the traditional yamabushi robes.
Just as the founder En no Gyoja was not originally a monk, this is the original way of Shugendo – being “half-monk, half-secular,” or “half-sacred, half-mundane.” They are permitted to eat meat, drink alcohol, and marry, and it’s considered natural for them to practice while holding a secular job.
They are modern-day “neighbors” who confront the struggles of everyday life while seeking spiritual heights in the mountains.

Gishi-Saisei – The Mystical Rite of Dying to Be Reborn

At the heart of Shugendo practice is gishi-saisei, a mystical ritual of experiencing death to be reborn.
This training begins with a “death” ritual, in which the practitioner holds their own funeral.
The practitioner puts on white burial robes and enters the mountains, which are seen as the “womb” of the mother.
For days, they walk on rugged mountain paths, climb steep cliffs, and perform rituals in a small hall.
They challenge the limits of their body and mind through practices like the “Hungry Ghost” asceticism, where they subsist on a small amount of vegetarian food, and takigyo, or waterfall meditation, where they stand under a freezing waterfall.
This rigorous training is not just about self-discipline.
The true purpose is to overcome instinctual pain like hunger and sleep deprivation to sharpen the five senses and foster a sense of gratitude for the simple things in everyday life.
The practitioner abandons their ego by responding “uketamou” (“I understand”) to every instruction, surrendering to the natural order of the universe.
Upon completing the training and descending the mountain, they perform a “birth” ritual by shouting “Ogya!” (“wahhh!”) and leaping over a fire.

This practice of gishi-saisei serves as a spiritual detox for modern people and a practical way to deeply confront one’s inner self.
In response to the stress and identity crises of modern society, Shugendo offers an ancient solution for re-evaluating the foundation of one’s own existence.

The Secret of Robes That Hold Life and Tools That Guide the Soul

The distinctive robes and ritual tools worn by yamabushi are not merely functional items.
They are a “wearable mandala” that expresses Buddhist teachings and the Shugendo cosmology through the entire body.

For example, the small black headpiece called a tokin symbolizes the five wisdoms of Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana Buddha), and its twelve pleats represent the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.
The robe for mountain practice, the suzukake, has nine pieces of cloth that symbolize the nine assemblies of the Diamond Realm, while the hakama (trousers) has eight pieces of cloth representing the eight petals of the Womb Realm.
The animal fur worn on the waist, the hisshiki, is a practical item for sitting on rocks but also symbolizes Manjushri Bodhisattva riding a lion, signifying courageous and swift movement.
The kainoo, a rope used for climbing cliffs, is seen as the umbilical cord connecting the practitioner to the mountain, which is seen as the womb.
Each of these items holds a deep philosophical meaning, showing that Shugendo emphasizes “practice” and imbues all of its actions with profound significance. The appearance of the yamabushi makes the invisible spiritual world visible.

Sacred Pilgrimages That Awaken the Japanese Soul

The Symbol of the Sacred Mountain: Mount Fuji – Climbing the Peak to Absorb Its Power

Since ancient times, Mount Fuji, with its repeated volcanic activity, has been an object of yohai, or remote worship.
When its eruptions subsided, this sacred peak became a training ground for Shugendo, and many practitioners began to undertake tohai, or mountain climbing, to reach the summit and obtain its divine and spiritual power.
It is said that the founder of the Murayama Shugendo, Sueyo Shonin, climbed Mount Fuji several hundred times, and his will was passed down to the Fuji-ko cult.
Rituals like the goma fire ceremony and mizugori (purification under a waterfall) were important practices to cleanse the body and mind before entering Mount Fuji.

The founder of the Fuji-ko cult, Kakugyo Hasegawa, performed a thousand days of rigorous asceticism in a cave at the foot of Mount Fuji and gained the power to save people.
The faith of the Fuji-ko spread explosively among the common people during the Edo period, creating a “Fuji-ko boom.”
At the same time, Mount Fuji was off-limits to women until the Meiji period.
The story of Takayama Tatsu, a follower of the Fuji-ko, who defied this ban by carrying on the will of Jikigyo Miroku to advocate for gender equality and successfully climbed the mountain, illustrates how the power of faith could change even the customs of the time.

The Soul’s Path Carved as a World Heritage Site: Kii Mountains’ Omine Okugake-michi

The Kii Mountain Range is registered as a unique cultural landscape in the world, where three different sacred sites – the Shugendo site of Yoshino Omine, the Shingon Esoteric Buddhist site of Mount Koya, and the Kumano faith’s Kumano Sanzan – are connected by pilgrimage routes.
At the heart of Shugendo is the Omine Okugake-michi.

This 170-kilometer-long path is said to have been opened by En no Gyoja.
The path, which views the Yoshino side as the Diamond Realm and the Kumano side as the Womb Realm, is a training ground for gishi-saisei. For days, practitioners climb cliffs and cross valleys, visiting 75 different prayer sites along the way.
This arduous path is the “path of the soul” for practitioners to achieve enlightenment and be reborn, and countless practitioners have walked it for over a thousand years.

A Hidden Trial and a Legend in the Deep Mountains: Mount Tsurugi, Shikoku

Mount Tsurugi, the second-highest peak in western Japan, is a spiritual mountain in Shikoku with many mysterious legends, including those about the Heike clan’s refugees and the “Lost Ark.”
It has long flourished as a Shugendo training ground, and its practices are known for being particularly demanding, relying solely on concentration and one’s own strength.

In the Ibe Shugendo tradition of the Mount Tsurugi range, practitioners climb and descend steep slopes using chains and ropes, enhancing their prayers and concentration.
The “Womb Cave” requires one to climb out on their own with no one to help, while the “Ant’s Tower Crossing” is a literally life-threatening practice of walking around a slippery, rocky tower.
Mount Tsurugi, with its legends and geographical features, shows that Shugendo has functioned as a place of true “trial” and not just mere formality.

A “Rebirth Journey” Through Past, Present, and Future: The Dewa Sanzan

The Dewa Sanzan (Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan, and Mount Yudono) in Yamagata Prefecture are sacred sites that symbolize the Shugendo “journey of rebirth.”
It is believed that Mount Haguro governs happiness in the present life, Mount Gassan cleanses the sins of the past, and Mount Yudono ensures happiness in the next life.
By visiting the three mountains, a person can purify and be reborn in the three realms of past, present, and future.

The journey includes 2,446 stone steps, and with each step, the practitioner refines their soul.
It is also believed that during the “Year of the Ox,” which comes once every twelve years, the power of the three mountain deities is at its peak, and a pilgrimage during this time brings twelve years’ worth of blessings.
As a cultural landscape where nature and human spiritual activity are integrated, the Dewa Sanzan has also been certified as a Japan Heritage site.

Shugendo has created its own unique system of practices and narratives tailored to the geographical features and historical backgrounds of each sacred mountain.
Mount Fuji symbolizes the spread of popular faith, the Kii Mountains represent a great journey, Mount Tsurugi a demanding trial, and the Dewa Sanzan symbolizes rebirth in the three realms.
This diversity illustrates the vitality and deep cultural significance of Shugendo, and the registration of these mountains as World Heritage and Japan Heritage sites is proof that Shugendo is recognized by the world as a cultural landscape in its own right, transcending mere religious activity.

The Truth the Mountains Teach—Shugendo and the World of “Satori” (Enlightenment)

The Purpose of Spiritual Power and Compassion – The Ultimate Goal of Mountain Training

The word Shugendo comes from the phrase, “to remove delusion through practice and to manifest spiritual power.”
However, the spiritual power (genryoku) that practitioners gain in the mountains is not for personal psychic abilities.
Its ultimate purpose is based on the fundamental Buddhist principle of “jogu bodai, geke shujo” – seeking one’s own enlightenment while also saving all sentient beings.
The rigorous training in the mountains is an act of compassion, meant to guide others to the path of enlightenment through hardship.

The Heart Sutra’s Path to Liberation from All Suffering

One of the most important scriptures in Shugendo is the Heart Sutra.
Practitioners connect this text with extreme physical training in the mountains.
The core idea of the Heart Sutra – “Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form” – cannot be truly understood with the mind alone.
It is only by using the five senses and the entire body to “embody” the transience of life and the impermanence of suffering through the hardships of hunger, loneliness, and exhaustion in the mountains that one can arrive at “the state of peace liberated from all suffering.”

This fusion of practice and wisdom is what makes Shugendo a uniquely Japanese “religion of embodiment.”
This enlightenment is a philosophy that saves all people without discrimination, as expressed in the saying, “If even good people are saved, how much more so are the wicked?” It is summarized by the phrase, “a religion that insists we are the very Buddhas, whether we live or die.”

What We Should Take from Shugendo Today

Shugendo does not advocate for formal renunciation but aims for the enlightenment of people who live in the secular world “as they are.” This universal philosophy offers a vital lesson for us in modern society.
The truths that the yamabushi find in the mountains exist right in our daily lives.
Their practices foster a “gratitude for nature” and “the necessity of spiritual activity,” which are crucial reminders of a healthy mindset in a world often lost in material wealth.

The teaching they carry, “Heijoshin Kore Do” (“The ordinary mind is the Way”), points to the universal truth that the path to enlightenment is found within our daily lives.
Shugendo shows that enlightenment is not a state that can only be reached in a specific place or by a certain status; it is a path that every person can walk “as they are.”
The existence of the modern “salaryman yamabushi” proves that the philosophy of Shugendo has an important message that continues to resonate with people across time.

The Profound Depths of Shugendo and the Nobility It Carries into the Modern World

Shugendo is a highly original faith system born from the fusion of ancient Japanese nature worship with Buddhism and Shinto.
From its legendary founder En no Gyoja to the activities of the yamabushi who traveled between mountains and villages to support people’s lives, its spirit has been passed down to the present day, having overcome the unprecedented crisis of the anti-Buddhist movement of the Meiji period.
This spirit is encapsulated in the practice of gishi-saisei, which sees the mountains as the womb and involves repeated death and rebirth.
This is not just a form of physical asceticism but a path of spiritual exploration to sharpen the senses, appreciate the ordinary in daily life, and re-examine the very foundation of one’s existence.

The sacred sites of Shugendo – Mount Fuji, the Kii Mountains, Mount Tsurugi, and the Dewa Sanzan – each tell a story of Japan’s spiritual and cultural diversity through their unique narratives and practice systems.
The fact that these mountains are registered as World Heritage and Japan Heritage sites is proof that Shugendo transcends a mere religious practice and is recognized by the world as a cultural landscape in its own right.

The truth that practitioners find through their hardships in the mountains is the universal teaching of accepting “ourselves as we are,” embracing a reverence for nature, and finding the path to enlightenment in our daily lives.
I sincerely hope that this article, by touching on the secrets of the seemingly distant practice of Shugendo, will be an opportunity for readers to find the “mountain” within their own hearts.