Kaihōgyō

[1][2][3] The practice involves repeatedly walking a route on Mount Hiei, the location of the Tendai school headquarters, all the while offering prayers at halls, shrines and other sacred places.

Sōō was a Tendai monk who spent years performing ascetic practices on Mt Hiei and other nearby mountains.

By the end of the practice the monks have achieved a form of identification with the emanation of Buddha known as Fudō Myōō (不動明王, Immovable Wisdom King).

[4] Of these, three people have completed the circuit twice, most recently Yūsai Sakai (酒井雄哉, (1926–2013)), who first went from 1973 to 1980 and then, after a half year pause, went again, finishing his second round in 1987 at age 60.

The kaihōgyō takes seven years to complete, as the monks must undergo other Buddhist training in meditation and calligraphy, and perform general duties within the temple.

They are required to spend 12 years total on Mount Hiei and includes vows of lifelong celibacy and sobriety in the spirit of renunciation.

Author John Stevens, in his book, The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei, describes the long distance walking style which dates back over a thousand years: "Eyes focused about 100 feet ahead while moving in a steady rhythm, keeping the head level, the shoulders relaxed, the back straight, and the nose aligned with the navel.

Practitioners wear a distinctive hat made from woven strips of hinoki wood, with both sides rolled up to make an oblong tube.