Shugenja) in the mountains of Shugendō practitioners () in the mountains of Kumano, Mie

Shugenja model in the Shugendō-Museum of the Shippōryū-ji-Temple ( model in the Shugendō-Museum of the Shippōryū-ji-Temple ( Osaka prefecture

Ascetic waterfall exercise supervised by a monk (Shippōryū-ji Temple)

Shugendō (修験道, literally "the way of shugen, or gen-practice"[1]) is a highly syncretic religion that originated in Heian Japan. Practitioners are called Shugenja (修験者) or Yamabushi (山伏, literally "mountain prostrate").

History [ edit ]

Shugendō evolved during the seventh century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local folk-religious practices, pre-Buddhist mountain worship, Shinto, Taoism and Vajrayana.[2]

The seventh-century ascetic and mystic En no Gyōja is widely considered as the patriarch of Shugendō, having first organized Shugendō as a doctrine. Shugendō literally means "the path of training and testing" or "the way to spiritual power through discipline."[3][4]

The Meiji government, which separated Shinto and Buddhism, ruled out Shugendō as 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, Shugendō was revived.[1]

In modern times, Shugendō is practiced mainly through Tendai and Shingon temples.[citation needed] Some temples include Kimpusen-ji in Yoshino (Tendai), Ideha Shrine in the Three Mountains of Dewa and Daigo-ji in Kyoto (Shingon).[citation needed]

Shugendō practitioners are said to be descendants of the Kōya Hijiri monks of the eighth and ninth centuries.[5]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Further reading [ edit ]



