Yamabushi

Yamabushi (山伏, one who prostrates oneself on the mountain) are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits.^[1] They are generally part of the syncretic shugendō religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements.^[2]

Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some hijiri (聖) (saints or holy persons) of the eighth and ninth centuries.^[3]

According to American writer Frederik L. Schodt:

These positively medieval-looking nature worshipers carry metal staves and conch shells and wear straw sandals and sometimes a hemp cloth over-robe with the Heart Sutra written on it. They follow a mixture of esoteric or tantric Buddhism mixed with Shinto, the native animistic religion of Japan.^[4]

^ Nelson, Andrew Nathaniel (1995). The Original Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary (Classic ed.). Rutland, Vermont: C. E. Tuttle Co. pp. 134, 346. ISBN 9780804819657.
^ "Exoteric Buddhism, Esoteric Buddhism, and Shugendo - 顕教・密教・修験道". www.tendai-jimon.jp. Tendaijimon Sect. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
^ Blacker, Carmen (1999). The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan (3rd ed.). Richmond, Virginia: Japan Library. pp. 165–167. ISBN 1873410859.
^ Schodt, Frederik L. (2020). My Heart Sutra. Berkeley (Ca): Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-61172-062-4.

[Nelson-1] Nelson, Andrew Nathaniel (1995). The Original Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary (Classic ed.). Rutland, Vermont: C. E. Tuttle Co. pp. 134, 346. ISBN 9780804819657.

[jimon-2] "Exoteric Buddhism, Esoteric Buddhism, and Shugendo - 顕教・密教・修験道". www.tendai-jimon.jp. Tendaijimon Sect. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21. Retrieved 31 January 2021.

[3] Blacker, Carmen (1999). The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan (3rd ed.). Richmond, Virginia: Japan Library. pp. 165–167. ISBN 1873410859.

[4] Schodt, Frederik L. (2020). My Heart Sutra. Berkeley (Ca): Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-61172-062-4.

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