yamabushi
{{Short description|Japanese mountain ascetic hermits}}
{{Italic title}}
{{nihongo3|one who prostrates oneself on the mountain|山伏|Yamabushi}} are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits.{{cite book|last1=Nelson|first1=Andrew Nathaniel|title=The Original Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary|date=1995|publisher=C. E. Tuttle Co.|location=Rutland, Vermont|isbn=9780804819657|pages=134, 346|edition=Classic}} They are generally part of the syncretic {{transliteration|ja|shugendō}} religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto.{{Cite web|title=Exoteric Buddhism, Esoteric Buddhism, and Shugendo - 顕教・密教・修験道|url=http://www.tendai-jimon.jp/trainee/index.html|url-status=live|website=www.tendai-jimon.jp|publisher=Tendaijimon Sect|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221152905/http://www.tendai-jimon.jp/trainee/index.html|accessdate=31 January 2021|archive-date=2020-12-21}}
Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some {{nihongo||聖|hijiri}} (saints or holy persons) of the eighth and ninth centuries.{{cite book|last1=Blacker|first1=Carmen|title=The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan|date=1999|publisher=Japan Library|location=Richmond, Virginia|isbn=1873410859|pages=165–167|edition=3rd}}
According to American writer Frederik L. Schodt:
{{quote|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.{{Cite book |last=Schodt |first=Frederik L. |title=My Heart Sutra |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-61172-062-4 |location=Berkeley (Ca)}}}}
Clothing and items
File:Appearance-of-Yamabushi-rm.jpg, kyahan, and tokin. They hold a shakujō in their hands, and blow the horagai to prevent evil spirits.]]
The Yamabushi usually wear and bring the following clothes and items with them:{{Cite web |last=小項目事典,世界大百科事典内言及 |first=日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ),百科事典マイペディア,旺文社日本史事典 三訂版,デジタル大辞泉,事典・日本の観光資源,世界大百科事典 第２版,ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 |title=山伏(やまぶし)とは？ 意味や使い方 |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%B1%B1%E4%BC%8F-144308 |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=コトバンク |language=ja}}{{Cite web |last=Cabello |first=Steve John Powell & Angeles Marin |title=Japan's mountain ascetic hermits |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210511-japans-mountain-ascetic-hermits |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=www.bbc.com |date=12 May 2021 |language=en}}{{Citation |title=Yamabushi Ascetic Monk | date=23 January 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zKJWR-V3GI |access-date=2023-06-02 |language=en}}
- Yuigesa ({{lang|ja|結袈裟}}), a harness or sash adorned with pom-poms
- Kyahan ({{lang|ja|脚絆}}), sandals made from straw
- Tokin ({{lang|ja|頭巾}}) which is a small hat-like adornment worn at the front of the head
- Shakujō ({{lang|ja|錫杖}}), a metal rod, held in their hands
- Oi ({{lang|ja|笈}}), backpack
- Horagai ({{lang|ja|法螺貝}}), a conch shell, which they blow like a horn to bind evil spirits
See also
Further reading
- {{cite book|last1=Ratti|first1=Oscar|last2=Westbrook|first2=Adele|title=Secrets of the Samurai: A Survey of the Martial Arts of Feudal Japan|date=1999|publisher=Castle Books|location=Edison, New Jersey|isbn=0785810730|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/secretsofsamurai00osca_0}}
- {{Cite news | last1 = Powell |first1=Steve John|last2= Cabello| first2 = Angeles Marin | title = Japan's Mountain Ascetic Hermits | newspaper = British Broadcasting Corporation | date = May 12, 2021 | url = http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210511-japans-mountain-ascetic-hermits}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Japanese (samurai) weapons, armour and equipment}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
Category:Religious occupations
Category:Japanese words and phrases
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