Shugendō

The final purpose of Shugendō is for practitioners to find supernatural power and save themselves and the masses by conducting religious training while treading through steep mountain ranges.

[4][5] Shugendō evolved during the seventh century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local folk-religious practices, Shinto mountain worship and Buddhism.

[10] The Meiji government, which erected a barrier between Shinto and Buddhism, ruled that Shugendō was unacceptable because of its amalgamation of the two religions, and officially forbade it in 1872.

[1] In 1907, Yoshitaro Shibasaki and his team successfully climbed Mount Tsurugi, which was regarded as the last unclimbed mountain in Japan.

[11] The Ōmine mountain range, which stretches 100 km from north to south and connects Yoshino and Kumano, was historically the biggest practice place of Shugendō.

According to Miyake Hitoshi, Shugendō rituals include "festivals, fortunetelling, divination, prayers and incantations, exorcism, spells, charms and so forth.

[3] The tantric Buddhist deity Fudō Myōō (Sanskrit: Acala, "Immovable") plays a central role in the Shugendo cosmology practice.

[3] Other practices which are part of Shugendō include the following:[3] Shugendo ritualists also practice different rituals, prayers and ceremonies associated with particular deities (shosonbō, 諸尊法) including the buddhas Yakushi and Amida, the bodhisattvas Monju, Kokuzo and Kannon as well as Indian deities like Benzai-ten and Japanese Kami like Inari, and Daikoku.