Database: Yamabushi and Shugendo

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Shugendō, or the way of experience through practice, is one of the forms of mountain worship that has existed in Japan since at least the end of the 17th century. Practitioners, or yamabushi, those who prostrate themselves in the mountains, retreat there to develop spiritual powers and magical practices. They practiced strict asceticism, including the waterfall asceticism which involves praying half-naked under a waterfall to purify oneself in order to be metaphorically reborn. "Dying" consisted of leaving one's former life behind and giving oneself over to these ascetic practices. Their deep connection to the mountains was born out of these profound mystical and physical experiences.

Shugendō was practiced only by men as women were not allowed access to the mountains in ancient Japan. The yamabushi would go deep into the forests that cover most of the mountains, armed with their gnarled sticks, using their conch shells like mournful trumpets to signal their presence to those near and far. Peasants in the surrounding valleys believed their practices, especially asceticism and fasting, gave the yamabushi special powers and set them apart from common people. Villagers considered them healers and they would perform exorcism rituals and propitiatory prayers. They were also feared since their strange practices seemed a form of magic. Despite their venerated status, very few of them were able to read or write. Their knowledge of the rituals and practices came entirely through the observation of their elders and oral tradition.