Shugendō: folk religion and mountain syncretism in Japan
- Cri
- Nov 19
- 3 min read
Previously published on Minkai.art
“Born Shintō, live nonreligious, wed Christian and die Buddhist”, once said the scholar Ian Reader. This quote summarizes one important aspect of Japanese religion: syncretism. Buddhism, Shintō and other doctrines interact and transform in something new, as one may expect in a country where it’s common to adhere to different faiths at the same time.
Along with deities like Buddhist Bodhisattvas and Shinto kami, Japan saw the spread of syncretic entities among folk, unrelated to official doctrines. The Seven Lucky Gods (七福神 Shichifukujin), iconographies like the Christian-like Maria Kannon, and the supernatural monsters known as yōkai (妖怪) are some examples. Without mentions in sacred texts, these beings were included in daily prayers, becoming a staple in folk religion.
Mountain worshiping and syncretism
Crucial for folk religion is the role of Shugendō (修験道). Literally “The Way of the Trial”, it is a mix of folk practices, Shintō and Buddhist mountain rituals, and Taoist philosophy. The mountain hermits who practiced it, called Yamabushi (山伏) or Shugenja (修験者), were said to be able to cure diseases and prevent calamities by reciting prayers and invocations.
We don’t know exactly when it developed, but we can find some information from the Heian period (IX century) onward, with the founding of Enryakuji (延暦寺) and Kongōbuji (金剛峯寺) temples, respectively on Mount Hiei and Mount Kōya. Here, the Buddhist monks Saichō and Kūkai started promoting meditation to reach Enlightenment. Soon, this doctrine started spreading among normal people, already devoted to mountain spirits.
En no Ozunu and the goma fire ritual
The most important figure related to Shugendō is, without any doubts, En no Ozunu (役小角). Known as the founder of this sect, according to the legend, he was a monk wrongfully exiled by a pupil in Ōshima (Izu prefecture). There, he defeated the residing demons and forced them to help him during rituals by bringing him water and fire. If they didn’t comply, he would bound them with sorcery. Every rite would focus on surviving in the forest, and we know about his worshiping of sacred objects in natural caves.
In 1090, Shugendō affiliated to the official Buddhist doctrine, and established pilgrimage roads called Kumano Kodō (熊野古道), from the Kumano area (Kii peninsula) to other important Buddhist temples. There, the monks helped with rituals and the organization of pilgrims’ stays, activities which constituted the sect’s main revenue.
From the Kamakura period (XII century) onward, the yamabushi formalized esoteric initiations and rituals, and established the purification ritual known as hashiramoto gomayō (柱源護摩供). In this ceremony, wooden sticks known as goma (護摩) are burned and their ashes flattened, so that the monks can walk barefoot across them.
Shugendō in modern times and pop culture
After being deemed illegal in XIX century by the Meiji government, Shugendō flourished again after the advent of religious freedom in 1946 and is still practiced today. One of the most important temples with close connections to this sect is the Yakuoin (薬王院) on Mount Takao (Tokyo prefecture). This place is famous for tengu (天狗) worshiping, crow-like yōkai usually dressed like yamabushi monks. They are considered messengers of the gods, sent to punish evil deeds and bring good luck to devoted men.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of En no Ozunu’s references in pop culture. He is usually mentioned to explain a character’s supernatural abilities.
In Suzuki Koji’s novel Ringu (en. The Ring), for example, Sadako’s mother receives supernatural powers by drawing the monk’s statuette from the sea. Since her daughter was born with mystical abilities, some characters have speculated that En no Ozunu could be her real father.
The monk also appears as an NPC in the videogame Shin Megami Tensei. Here, he resides in the Diamond World (Kongōkai), where he gives the player some fetch quests to gain exclusive weapons and make him fight his two demon servants, Zenki and Goki.
References
KASAHARA Kazuo, History of Japanese Religion, Kosai Publishing Co., 2001 Tokyo
SWANSON Paul, “Shugendō and the Yoshino-Kumano pilgrimage: an example of mountain pilgrimage”, Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 36, n.1, Sophia University, 1981 Tokyo
Yakuoin website
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