Yamabushi, literally one who prostrates on the mountain, are Shugendo's practitioners, also called shugenja. They undertake structured retreats into the sacred mountains, wearing a distinctive dress, the pom-pommed yuigesa harness, straw kyahan leggings, a small tokin cap and a metal shakujo staff, and carrying a horagai conch shell blown during ritual. Their practice blends esoteric Buddhist discipline learned within the Shingon and Tendai lineages with reverence for the mountains' own resident Shinto kami, and their training is judged by endurance of the terrain itself rather than by textual study alone. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Significance
Sacred RoleSourced to the subject's own accountMountain ascetic practitioner: undertakes nyubu shugyo, structured peak entry training, and historically also served as a ritualist, healer and diviner for lay communities outside the mountains. 1 Attributions
Associated ReligionSourced to the subject's own accountShugendo, organised within Shingon and Tendai Buddhist institutional lineages 1 Status
Status TodaySourced to the subject's own accountLiving tradition, practised today 1 Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Shugendo (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Shugendo (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction identifying it as called Shugenja (修験者) or Yamabushi (山伏Quote, Introduction identifying it as called Shugenja (修験者) or Yamabushi (山伏
Practitioners are called Shugenja (修験者) or Yamabushi (山伏, lit. '"Mountain Prostrator"').
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