Shugendo

Shugendo is a highly syncretic Buddhist religion or sect and mystical-spiritual tradition that originated in pre-Feudal Japan, in which enlightenment is equated with attaining oneness with the kami. This perception of experiential "awakening" is obtained through the understanding of the relationship between humanity and nature, centered on an ascetic, mountain-dwelling practice. The focus or goal of Shugendo is the development of spiritual experience and power. Having backgrounds in mountain worship, Shugendo incorporated beliefs or philosophies from Old Shinto as well as folk animism, and further developed as Taoism and esoteric Buddhism arrived in Japan. The 7th century ascetic and mystic En no Gyoja is often considered as having first organized Shugendo as a doctrine. Shugendo literally means "the path of training and testing" or "the way to spiritual power through discipline."

With its origins in the solitary practitioners (hijiri) in the 7th century, Shugendo evolved as a sort of amalgamation between Vajrayana, Shinto and several other religious influences including Taoism. Buddhism and Shinto were amalgamated in shinbutsu-shugo and Kukai's syncretic view held wide sway up until the end of the Edo period, coexisting with indigenous elements within Shugendo.

In 1613 during the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate issued a regulation obliging Shugendo temples to declare allegiance either to Shingon Buddhism or Tendai. During the Meiji Restoration, when Shinto was declared an independent state religion separate from Buddhism, shugendo was banned as a superstition not fit for a new, enlightened Japan. Some Shugendo temples converted themselves into various officially approved Shinto denominations.
In modern times, shugendo is practiced mainly in Tendai and Shingon temples, retaining an influence on modern Japanese religion and culture. Some temples include Kimpusen-ji in Yoshino (Tendai), Ideha Shrine in the Three Mountains of Dewa and Daigo-ji in Kyoto (Shingon).

Those who practice shugendo are referred to in two ways. One term, shugenja (???), is derived from the term shugendo, literally meaning "a person of training and testing", i.e. "a person of shugen." The other term, yamabushi, means "one who lies in the mountains". Supernatural creatures often appeared as yamabushi in Japanese myths and folklore, as is evident in tales of the legendary warrior monk Saito Musashibo Benkei and the deity Sojobo, king of the tengu (mountain spirits). Shugendo practitioners are the most direct lineage descendants of the ancient Koya Hijiri monks of the eight and ninth centuries.

Modern shugenja in Japan and throughout the world are known to self-actualize their spiritual power in experiential form through challenging and rigorous ritualistic tests of courage and devotion known as shugyo. Pilgrimages involving mountain treks are embarked upon by shugenja and, through the experience of each trek, as well as years of study, "rank" is earned within the sect. The rituals are kept secret from the neophyte shugenja and the world at large. This denju ensures the true faith of the neophytes and maintains the fear of the unknown as they embark upon the journey. This secrecy was also borne out of previous episodes of persecution and oppression of shugenja as a threat to the ruling military hegemony. Many modern shugenja maintain the practice of relative anonymity in their daily lives.