Modern-day yamabushi blowing a horagai

Yamabushi (山伏, Yamabushi^?) (Literally: "Those who hide in the mountains") were Japanese mountain ascetics and warriors, mostly of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. For the most part solitary, they did form loose confederations, and associations with certain temples, and also participated in battles and skirmishes alongside samurai and sōhei on occasion. Image File history File linksMetadata Horagai-conchtrumpet. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Horagai-conchtrumpet. ... The word ascetic derives from the ancient Greek term askesis (practice, training or exercise). ... Shingon (真言宗) is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and the most important school of Vajrayana Buddhism outside of the Himalayan region. ... Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of psychology. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... The sōhei Benkei with Minamoto no Yoshitsune Sohei redirects here. ...

In modern use, the term yamabushi refers to practioners of Shugendō, a syncretic religion mixing Buddhist and Shinto elements. The religion places a heavy emphasis on asceticism and feats of endurance, and white-robed yamabushi toting a horagai conch-shell trumpet are still a common sight near the Shugendo holy site of Dewa Sanzan. Shugendō (修験道) is an old Japanese way of studying the relationship between Man and Nature. ... A modern-day yamabushi blows a horagai, or shell trumpet. ... The Three Mountains of Dewa (出羽三山 Dewa Sanzan) are the three sacred mountains of Mt. ...

History

19th century photograph of a yamabushi.

Yamabushi began as yamahoshi, isolated clusters (or individuals) of mountain hermits, ascetics, and 'holy men,' who followed the path of shugendō, a search for spiritual, mystical, or supernatural powers gained through asceticism. This path may or may not have had a founder, as the myths surrounding En no Gyoja are numerous and complex; he is quite similar to a Japanese Merlin in this way. Men who followed this path came to be known by a variety of names, including kenja, kenza, and shugenja. These mountain mystics came to be renowned for their magical abilities and occult knowledge, and were sought out as healers or mediums, known as miko. Most of these ascetics, in addition to their devotion to shugendō, studied the teachings of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, or the Shingon sect, established by Kōbō Daishi in the 8th century. Shingon Buddhism was one of the primary sects of mikkyo (密教) or Esoteric Buddhism, according to which enlightenment is found through isolation, and the study and contemplation of oneself, as well as nature, and esoteric images called mandala. Both the Shingon sect and the Tendai viewed mountains as the ideal place for this sort of isolation and contemplation of nature. In their mountain retreats, these monks studied not only nature and religious/spiritual texts and images, but also a variety of martial arts. Whether they felt they had to defend themselves from bandits, other monks, or samurai armies is questionable, but the idea of studying martial arts as a means to improve onself mentally and spiritually, not just physically, has always been central to Japanese culture, outside from the specific tenets of one religious sect or another. Thus, like the sōhei, the yamabushi became warriors as well as monks. Image File history File links 19th century photograph of a Yamabushi. ... Image File history File links 19th century photograph of a Yamabushi. ... Shugendō (修験道) is an old Japanese way of studying the relationship between Man and Nature. ... En no Gyōja (役行者), aka En no Ozunu (役小角), born 634, was a Japanese ascetic and mystic, traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, a conglomerate religion incorporating aspects of Taoism, Shinto, esoteric Buddhism (especially Shingon Mikkyo and the Tendai sect but some Zen sects have also been heard of... Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys (Merlin the Wise); also known as Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin the Wild), Merlin Caledonensis (Scottish Merlin), Merlinus, and Merlyn) is the personage best known as the mighty wizard featured in Arthurian legends, starting with Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae. ... Shugenja (修験者) were the 7th century practitioners of the Japanese religion of Shugendo. ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to the knowledge of the secret or knowledge of the hidden and often popularly meaning knowledge of the supernatural, as opposed to knowledge of the visible or knowledge of the measurable, usually referred to as science. ... Miko at Aso shrine in Aso, Japan Miko ) are young women in the service of Shinto shrines. ... Shugendō (修験道) is an old Japanese way of studying the relationship between Man and Nature. ... Tendai (Japanese: 天台宗, Tendai-shÅ«) is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school. ... Painting of Kukai (774-835). ... Shingon (真言宗) is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and the most important school of Vajrayana Buddhism outside of the Himalayan region. ... A mandala used in Vajrayana Buddhist practices. ... Buddhist mandala Mandala (Sanskrit circle, completion) is of Hindu origin and is also used in most Dharmic religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, to refer to various tangible objects. ...

As their reputation for mystical insight and knowledge grew, and their organization grew tighter, many of the masters of the ascetic disciplines began to be appointed to high spiritual positions in the court hierarchy. Monks and temples began to gain political influence. By the Nanboku-cho Period, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the yamabushi had formed organized cohorts called konsha, and these konsha, along with sōhei and other monks began to take direction from the central temples of their sects. They assisted Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempts to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate, and proved their warrior skills to be up to the challenge of fighting professional samurai armies. The Nanboku-cho period (Japanese: 南北朝時代, nanbokuchō-jidai, South and North courts period), also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the early years of the Muromachi period of Japans history. ... Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 Go-Daigo Tennō) (November 26, 1288 – September 19, 1339) was the 96th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... This wooden Kongorikishi statue was created during the Kamakura shogunate during 14th century Japan. ...

Several centuries later, in the Sengoku Period, yamabushi could be found among the advisors & armies of nearly every major contender for dominion over Japan. Some, led by Takeda Shingen, aided Oda Nobunaga against Uesugi Kenshin in 1568, while others, including the abbot Sessai Choro, advised Tokugawa Ieyasu. Many fought alongside their fellow monks, the Ikkō-ikki, against Nobunaga, who eventually crushed them and put an end to the time of the warrior monks. The Sengoku period (Japanese: 戦国時代, Sengoku-jidai) or Warring States period, was a period of civil war in the history of Japan that spans from the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Uesugi Kenshin February 18, 1530—April 19, 1578) was a warlord who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku Period of Japan. ... Events March 23 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. ... Sessai Choro (切磋意長老)(d. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu The Tokugawa clan crest Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. ... The Japanese Ikkō-ikki ), literally single-minded leagues, were mobs of peasant farmers, monks, Shinto priests and local nobles, who rose up against samurai rule in the 15th and 16th centuries. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Weapons, Style, and Training

Like the other types of warrior monks, yamabushi were skilled in the use of a wide variety of weaponry. It should not be surprising to find references to them fighting with bow and arrow, or with sword and dagger. However, like the sōhei and Ikkō-ikki, the weapon of choice for the yamabushi was the naginata. A samurai wielding a naginata Naginata (なぎなた, 長刀 or 薙刀) is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. ...

In addition to their spiritual or mystical abilities, yamabushi are often attributed with being skilled practitioners of ninjutsu, the art of the ninja. The mountain monks are known to have hired ninja to fight alongside them, and to aid them in various, more clandestine ways. And the ninja are known to have disguised themselves as monks or mountain ascetics, so as to pass unnoticed more easily in certain environments. Most likely, this is where the confusion can be said to have come from; it seems unlikely that any significant number of yamabushi would have been trained by the insular ninja clans in ninjutsu. This article refers to Japanese spies and assassins known as Ninja. For other uses, see Ninja (disambiguation) This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In fact, the ninja clans were a derivation from the yamabushi lifestyle, merged with different interpretations of ninpo (the highest form of ninjutsu) and embraced by the common people.

Experience Yamabushi

Mt. Haguro Shrine which is located in Yamagata, Japan hosts a Yamabushi training for physically and mentally qualified men and women. The program involves fasting, Zazen, meditation under waterfall, walking on fire, and other extreme physical trainings attached to nature and self discipline. A temple atop Mt. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... Yamagata is the name of several places: Yamagata Prefecture Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan Yamagata City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan Yamagata, a village located in Higashichikuma District, Nagano, Japan. ... Fasting is the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food and in some cases drink, for a period of time. ... Kodo Sawaki practicing zazen Zazen (坐禅) is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. ... A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating The term Meditation describes a variety of practices with a variety of goals. ...

Yamabushi in Fiction

While most warrior monks in fiction are derived from Tibetan, Nepalese, or Chinese archetypes, the majority of those drawn from Japanese history are yamabushi. Splinter, the mentor to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has some aspects of the yamabushi in his character, and Usagi Yojimbo, a comicbook rabbit samurai created by Stan Sakai, often encounters yamabushi in his travels. In the trading card game Magic: The Gathering, the expansion Champions of Kamigawa contains several cards representing fictional yamabushi and their powers. In the game, the yamabushi have the ability to permanently banish spirits. Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; pronounced in the Lhasa dialect; Chinese: ; pinyin: or Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: [the two names are used with different connotations; see Name section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei Pre-History/The Origin of History Jomon Period Main... The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ... Usagi Yojimbo book 11: Seasons Usagi Yojimbo (Literally Rabbit Bodyguard, Japanese kanji 兎用心棒 or phonetically うさぎようじんぼう usagi yōjinbō) is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai. ... Stan Sakai (born 1953) is a third-generation American of Japanese descent. ... Collectible card games (CCGs), also called customizable card games or trading card games, are played using specially designed sets of cards. ... Magic: The Gathering (colloq. ... Champions of Kamigawa (or Champions, or Kamigawa, or ChK) is the name of the Magic: The Gathering expansion set which came out in October of 2004. ...

Reference

• Ratti, Oscar and Adele Westbrook (1973). Secrets of the Samurai. Edison, NJ: Castle Books.

External Link

• Yamabushi Training Program in Japanese

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