＊　＊　＊　＊＊

Welcome to the Daruma Forum Articles !

だるまフォーラム　にようこそ　！

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Darumasan-Japan/

　 Sokushinbutsu – Mummies in Jpaan　

日本の即身仏

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Buddhist Mummies of Japan

This subject brings us to the fringes of ascetic Buddhist practises and is only for the advanced reader. Some of them in the tradition of Kuukai, Kooboo Daishi 空海received the name of xxKAI, as you can see in the list below. Differing from Egyptian mummies who are prepared after death, these Holy Man prepare their body while alive in a long ascetic practise for keeping in eternity.

< Take a look at Arisadas Mummy, with some bones and red robe

http://www.db.fks.ed.jp/pic/10027.001/images/10027.001.00007.jpg

QUOTE

Estimates of the number of self-mummified priests in Japan range between sixteen and twenty-four priests. Impressive though this number is, many more have tried to self-mummify themselves; In fact, the practice of self-mummification -- which is a form of suicide, after all -- had to be outlawed towards the end of the 19th century to prevent Buddhist priests from offing themselves this way... and yet the grand majority of priests who have tried to do this have failed. The reasons will take some explaining -- but first, some background on the whole practice and the reasons for it.

So truely devote Buddhist priests are not afraid of death; but they don't normally seek it either, as this too would be an abnormal obsession with the physical world. The priests that chose to practice self-mummification were usually all older men, who knew they had limited time left to their lives anyway... and since the practice takes years to lead to a sucessful death and mummification, it cannot be characterized as an attempt to reach enlightenment quickly as a normal suicide might be. Rather, the intended purpose of this practice for these priests is to both push their ability to disregard their physical selves to the limit of their ability, and to try and leave an artifact of this struggle that will stand as a symbol of their beliefs to those that are priests after them.

How to be a self-made mummify

Scientific study of the mummies and the process that created them only began in the early 1960's. It was generally expected that the mummies studied would show signs of having been mummified after death by other priests, in much the way Egyptian mummies -- and almost all other mummies on Earth -- have been created. The first step in that process is the removal of the internal organs, because the bacteria in these begin the process of decomposition within hours of death; with these removed, it is relatively easy to prepare, dry, and preserve the remainder of the body. But x-rays discounted this expectation... the internal organs were intact, which meant that mummification had been accomplished in some new way that scientists had not yet encountered. So the process itself was next investigated.

The actual practice was first pioneered by a priest named Kuukai over 1000 years ago at the temple complex of Mount Kooya, in Wakayama prefecture. Kuukai was founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, which is the sect that came up with the idea of enlightenment through physical punishment. There were three steps in the process of self-mummification that Kuukai proposed, and the full process took upwards of ten years to lead to a successful mummification.

The first step is a change of diet. The priest was only allowed to eat nuts and seeds that could be found in the forests surrounding his temple; this diet had to be stuck to for a 1000 day period, a little under three years. During this time, the priest was to continue to subject himself to all sorts of physical hardship in his daily training. The results were that the body fat of the priest was reduced to nearly nothing, thus removing a section of the body that easily decomposes after death.

In the second stage, the diet became more restrictive. The priest was now only allowed to eat a small amount of bark and roots from pine trees (mokujiki). This had to be endured for another 1000 day period, by the end of which the priest looked like a living skeleton. This also decreased the overall moisture contained in the body; and the less fluid left in the body, the easier to preserve it.

Towards the end of this 1000 day period, the priest also had to start to drink a special tea made from the sap of the urushi tree. This sap is used to make laquer for bowls and furniture; but it is also very poisonous for most people. Drinking this tea induced vomenting, sweating, and urination, further reducing the fluid content of the priest's body. But even more importantly, the build up of the poison in the priest's body would kill any maggots or insects that tried to eat the priest's remains after death, thus protecting it from yet another source of decay.

The third and last step of the process was to be entombed alive in a stone room just big enough for a man to sit lotus style in for a final 1000 day period. As long as the priest could ring a bell each day a tube remained in place to supply air; but when the bell finally stopped, the tube was removed and the tomb was sealed.

When the tomb was finally opened, the results would be known. Some few would be fully mummified, and immediately be raised to the rank of Buddha; but most just rotted and, while respected for their incredible endurance, were not considered to be Buddhas. These were simply sealed back into their tombs. But why did some mummify and some not? This is the tricky part of the whole process.

It is not clear if this is part of the process as set down by Kuukai, but in Yamagata is a sacred spring. This spring is on a mountain called Yudono, which is in fact the third sacred mountain of the three I visited in 1998. Many of the priests in the area considered both the water and the mineral deposits from this spring to have medicinal value, and may have injested one or both previous to their entombment. An analysis of the spring water and deposits revealed that they contain enough arsenic to kill a human being! Arsenic does not get eliminated from the body, so it remains after death... and it is toxic to bacteria and other micro-organisms, so it eliminated the bacteria that started the decompostion of the body.

As you can see, the process of self-mummification was a long and extremely painful process that required a mastery of self-control and denial of physical sensation. The self-made mummies of Japan are people who have earned the respect now shown to them, as they exemplify the teachings of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism.

http://www.sonic.net/~anomaly/japan/dbuddha.htm

Copy is here

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DarumaArchives-002/message/23

Now read a short report of my travels in the area.

In May 1993, we took to the small roads of Northern Japan in pursuit of some of the living mumies.

On the sea-side of Mt. Hikoo-zan (the land-side shelters the temple Kokkujoo-ji, where Ryookan used to live in the small hut Gogoo-an), anyway, on the other side of this holy mountain, the temple Saishoo-ji is located halfway up the mountain.

They seem to make a good business with the sacred mummy, already from far a way many roadsigns lead us easily to the huge parking space. The Holy Koochi Hooin 弘智法印is sitting here, said to be the oldeset mummy, since 1363. He has his own special hall and sits there hanging slightly to the front, since a samurai, who was afraid of the whole business of living mumies, stuck a spear in his shoulder. (see picture). This samurai in turn had to leave his head for the unholy act, another trophy shown in this temple compound.

< 001 Picture Koochi getting stabbed >

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gabigreve2000/detail?.dir=/6f75&.dnm=ec3b.jpg

< 002 Picture Koochi fallen over after the lance blow >

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gabigreve2000/detail?.dir=/6f75&.dnm=a7c8.jpg

< 003 Picture His memorial stone >

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gabigreve2000/detail?.dir=/6f75&.dnm=fca9.jpg

Three tourist busses have come this morning and we follow the busy head priest, leading us on with his megaphone, past a huge statue of the Holy Koochi towards the small hall. Ther he rings a bell, says a prayer in high-speed and then openes a brocade veil which had covered the Sacred Mummy. Now we can look at him, behind some clouds of incense. His body is there in full presence, getting dressed for the season twice a year. His body is unpalatable for the mice and does not react to heat or moisture any more. So he is sitting there since more than 600 years and receives the prayers of the believers with great magnanimity. Some of the people from the bus tour tell me they come here every year to “receive some strength”.

Well, after this busybody morning we take off along the coast, further north. I leave out our other adventures here and concentrate on the Sacred Mummies. (Details of all Holy men see below)

We reach the small town of Murakami and try to locate the Kannon Temple, but this time no signs and no megaphones…

After cruising around the station area for a while we find an unconspicious house-like temple. The priest seems surprised that someone shows up. He was cleaning the clean wooden planks of his temple and openes after I ring the bell many times to ask for permisison to come in.

He is very friendly and shows us to the small side-altar of the Holy Bukkai, who is sitting there since 1903. Even after the abolishment of this old tradition, he finished his ascetic practises and entered his final box only to be living on here now for ever. There is even a photo of an old man with a long beard beside the altar, showing the real living person. This is a place for the serious pilgrim only. Nobody disturbs our encounter here.

Next we are heading toward the three holy mountains of Dewa, Dewa-Sanzan, but that is another story. Anyway, we visit the tempel Jooren-ji, where another mummy is located. This temple is on a small hill, overlooking the fresh green ricefields. This temle used to be the final place on the pilgrimage to the three holy mountains on foot. After passing here, the pilgrim was allowed to eat meat again and partake of worldly pleasures.

The old wooden building is beautifully blended in the landscape. The cassette ceiling shows a surprizing array of modern paintings of dragons, horses, Kannon and even the heads of the beatles, Einstein and Picasso. It has been painted recently with the prayers for world peace.

On an unconspicious side alter the mummy of Holy Tetsumon is placed for all to meet. He sits here since 1898, being 62 years. There are only few people and the silence and piece is refreshing.

Just a few kilometers further up the hill is the most famous hall, Dainichi-boo. Here the Holy Shinnyookai is up for good business. Since the mountain of Yudono does not have its own tempel building, all statues are placed here. This temple had a lot of influence during the Edo period and even Kasuga no Tubone visited her praying for Iemitsu to become the third Shoogun of Edo.

50 years ago, a part of the mountain slided down during strong rain and ruined part of the temple, so now all statues are cramped in a building that withstood the onslaughter of nature. A young priest wellcomes us, smelling nicely of the “water of wisdom”, the holy ricewine. When he realizes that we are not just tourists but understand a little more about Buddhistm and statues, his explanations get longer and longer, his tounge more heavy. We reach the alter with the Holy Shinnyookai, the mummy best preserved from all the 24 existing in Japan to this day. Shinnyookai is sitting here since 1783,we are told, after 70 years spending among the living. After prayers and incense we are allowed to take a closer look. His fragile hands over his knees you can see all the sinews of the fingers and the nails protruding over the flesh just a little.

The great feeling of presence of all these mummies is really surprising. You must have seen it for yourself to understand the feeling you are really face to face with a special power.

Our trip goes on to Yudono, but that is another story.

List of 16 Japanese Sacred Mummies

舜義上人

Shungi

妙法寺

Myoohoo-ji

茨城県西茨城郡岩瀬町本郷１

宥貞法印

Arisada Hooin

貫秀寺

Kanshuu-ji

福島県石川郡浅川町小貫字宿ノ内

萬蔵Manzoo
（金剛院佑観）

萬蔵稲荷神社

Inari Shrine

宮城県白石市小原字馬頭山６

明海上人

Myookai

（個人蔵）　

(private)

山形県米沢市

伝光明海上人

Tenkoo Myookai

蔵高院

Zookoo-In

山形県西置賜郡白鷹町大字黒鴨

真如海上人

Shinnyookai

大日坊

Dainichi-Boo

山形県東田川郡朝日村大綱１

鉄門海上人

Tetsumonkai

注連寺

Juuren-ji

山形県東田川郡朝日村大綱７５３掛

本明海上人

Honmyookai

本明寺

Honmyoo-ji

山形県東田川郡朝日村大字東岩字内野３８８

鉄竜海上人

Tetsuryuukai

南岳寺

Nangaku-ji

山形県鶴岡市砂田町３－６

忠海上人

Chuukai
円明海上人

Enmeikai

海向寺

Kaikoo-ji

山形県酒田市日吉町２－７－１２

仏海上人

Bukkai

観音寺

Kannon-ji

新潟県村上市肴町

全海法師

Zenkai Hooshi

観音寺

Kannon-ji

新潟県東蒲原郡鹿瀬町大字豊実

秀快上人

Shuukai

真珠院

Shinjuu-in

新潟県柏崎市大字西長鳥甲５０２

心相行順大行者

Shinsoo Gyoojun Daigyooja

新栄山山頂

Shineizan

長野県下伊那郡阿南町新野

妙心法師

Myooshin Hooshi

横蔵寺

Yokokuradara

岐阜県

弾誓上人

Tanzei

阿弥陀寺

Amida-ji

京都市左京区大原古知平町

http://www.saisyouji.jp/saisyo-ji/contents-sokusinbutu-navi.html

Here are other lists of the living mummies in Japanese:

http://www.fukimbara.com/jmb/jmb053.html

With links to each one.

http://www.fukimbara.com/cgi-bin/m-srch1.cgi

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/mutsumi/mummy/mummy.htm

List of the Shoonin in order of the date of passing on

人名享年 入定年 寺名所在地

Name Age Date Temple Place Name

弘智法印 82 貞治二年(1363) 西生寺新潟県 Koochi Hooin

弾誓上人 63 慶長十八年(1613) 阿弥陀寺京都府 Tanzei

本明海上人 61 天和三年(1683) 本明寺山形県 Honmyookai

宥貞法印 92 天和三年(1683) 貫秀寺福島県 Arisada

舜義上人 78 貞享三年(1686) 妙法寺茨城県 Shungi

心宗行順法師 45 貞享四年(1687) 瑞光院長野県 Gyoojun Hooshi

全海上人 85 貞享四年(1687) 観音寺(菱潟全海堂) 新潟県 Zenkai

忠海上人 58 宝暦五年(1755) 海向寺山形県 Chuukai

秀快上人 62 安永九年(1780) 真珠院新潟県 Shuukai

真如海上人 96 天明三年(1783) 大日坊山形県 Shinnyookai

妙心法師？文化十四年(1817) 横蔵寺岐阜県 Myooshin Hooshi

円明海上人 55 文政五年(1823) 海向寺山形県 Enmeikai

鉄門海上人 62 文政十二年(1829) 注連寺山形県 Tetsumonkai

萬蔵？弘化四年(1847) 萬蔵稲荷神社宮城県 Manzoo

光明海？嘉永七年(1854) 蔵高院山形県 Kookai

明海上人？文久三年(1863) 亀栄山明寿院山形県 Myookai

鉄竜海上人 62 明治元年(1868) 南岳寺山形県 Tetsuryuukai

仏海上人 76 明治三十六年(1903) 観世音寺新潟県 Bukkai

The eight ones in Pink are all in Yamagata prefecture and take the Chinese character

KAI 海、in the tradition of Kuukai, 空海。

なんと「空海」の「海」の字を与えられた即身仏が山形に八体もあるのだ。山形盆地の南の米沢に明海上人、西の白鷹に光明海、北の朝日村・酒田市にその他の上人たち、そして東の山寺には最澄の精神を受け継ぐ不滅の法灯が燃え続けている。

http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~kuruto60/reiseir1.htm

Let us look at some of them in more detail,

in the order of the first list above.

You can also open my photo album in a different window and look at the numbers for the pictures.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gabigreve2000/album?.dir=/6f75&

Shungi Shoonin 舜義上人, Myoohoo-ji, Ibaragi Pref.

He came from the temple Hookai-ji in Kamakura and was a believer in Amida Nyorai.

He found his end in 1686 in Ibaragi Pref. The temple Myoohoo-ji is Nr. 33 in a pilgrimage to 38 temples in honor of the Wisdom King Fudoo-Myoo-oo.

Arisada Hooin 宥貞法印, Temple Kanshuu-ji

< 01 picture of his mummy >

http://www.db.fks.ed.jp/pic/10027.001/images/10027.001.00007.jpg

He was a strong believer in the healing Buddha Yakushi Nyorai. He passed away in 1683 at the temple xxx in Fujishima prefecture. At the age of 92 he decided his time for death in order to help the suffering people of the area, sat down in a stone coffin and said: “Within 21 days,I will be in the other world”. He is now resting in the Yakushi Hall of the temple.

< 02 another picture of his mummy >

http://travel.nifty.com/cs/jpspot/img/7010133_1069_1.jpg

薬師堂に保存されている権大僧都宥貞法印入定ミイラは、薬師信仰に基づいて庶民のために入定したものとしては全国で唯一のものです。

http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~asakawa/bunkabussan/bunbussan.html

http://travel.nifty.com/cs/catalog/travel_595/catalog_7010133_1.htm

Tenkoo Myookai Shoonin, Zookoo-In 伝光明海上人

< picture of his mummy

http://www.informatics.tuad.ac.jp/tenji/tenji03/kotoh-lab/199970035/samplepage/miira.jpg

His mummy is in the temple Zookoo-In.

http://www.informatics.tuad.ac.jp/tenji/tenji03/kotoh-lab/199970035/samplepage/zoukouin.html

http://www1.shirataka.or.jp/kanko/kanko-pages/meisyo6.html

http://p2223.nsk.ne.jp/~toramoto/sntssb.htm

Shinnyokai Shonin真如海上人　Temple Dainichi-Boo

< picture of his mummy >

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/images/dainichibo-card.gif

< 03 picture of his mummy >

http://www.dainichibou.or.jp/sokushin2.jpg

See my own story above for the English.

代受苦菩薩真如海上人は

朝日村越中山に生まれ、純真な性格の持主として育ち、幼少の頃より仏教の教えに心をひかれ青年時代より仏門に帰依出家し、一生を捧げて弱肉強食の不平等社会を仏国楽土たらしめ、衆生を救うことを誓願され、湯殿山大権現を信仰し、本寺大日坊を拠点として各方面の教化につとめた。寺を建て慈悲を施して社会福祉につとめられたため、徳望一世に高く、生き仏として多くの人々より尊ばれた。二十代より即身仏を志し、木食の行に入り、天明三年九十六才で生身のまま土中に入定するまで七十余年の長い間この難業苦業を積み重ね即身仏となられた。今日まで約二百年以上もなるが、生きながら入定そのままの尊い姿である。即身仏とは、湯殿山行者の行う難業苦業の最たる木食の行を積み重ね、生きながらにして土中に入定し三年三ヶ月後に弟子や信者の手により掘り出し、即身仏になった。

http://www.dainichibou.or.jp/sokushin.htm

http://www.ic-net.or.jp/home/rinet/yympsksnbt.html

About the temple Dainichi-Boo (Dainichibo, Dainichi-Bo)

Said to have been founded in 807 by the high priest Kooboo Daishi, this is an old and famous temple. Preserved here is a sokushinbutsu (see above) which, even more rare, is entirely intact. The remains, naturally embalmed and preserved by undergoing a special starvation diet, have not changed remarkably during 200 years of storage and handling. As the temple itself was used for worship by the former Tokugawa Shogun family, it stores many gifts offered by the former ruling clan such as swords, Buddhist statues and scroll boxes.

http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~yuko2000/shonai-r/asahi/sh/dainichi-bo.html

Tetsumonkai Shoonin鉄門海上人, Temple Chuuren-ji

< picture of his mummy >

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/images/mummychurenji.gif

His portrait whilst living

http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/yamagata/u-zen/024/img/yumeno00.gif

Temple Chuuren-ji 注連寺 (Churenji)

Churen-ji is the resting site of yet another sokushinbutsu, the natural embalming processed being accomplished by abstaining from all grains and eating only tree and grass foods.

There are many tales surrounding the Edo Era individual who eventually became the mummy here; he is said to have killed two samurai over women problems and escaped to Churen-ji, where he became a mountain ascetic.

After enduring many harduous rituals in the nearby mountains he made great efforts to rebuild the temple. At the age of 54 he visited Edo where he saw the great extent of eye illnesses, a major infliction at the time. This moved him to take out his own eye (the left) and throw it into the Sumida-gawa (Sumida River) and pray for a cure to the eye illnesses of the masses. What happened to the eye is not recorded, however, in 1829 in front of many believers he entered the main hall of Churen-ji where he attained living Buddhahood.

http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~yuko2000/shonai-r/asahi/sh/churen-ji.html

His hands as a print.

< 04 picture >

http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/yamagata/u-zen/024/img/yumeno04.jpg

Drawing of a Dragon-Circle by him.

< 05 picture >

http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/yamagata/u-zen/024/img/yumeno05.jpg

Very detailed page about Tetsumonkai.

http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/yamagata/u-zen/024/yumeno01.html

鉄門海上人は1768年、現在の山形県鶴岡市生まれ。1829年、注連寺本堂において信者のみまもるなか入定したという。1821年に江戸へ出たとき、眼病が流行しているのをみて、みずからの左眼をくりぬいて隅田川に投じ、眼病退散を祈願したといわれている。湯殿山総本寺瀧水寺大日坊もここからすぐである。山形は新潟と並んでミイラの宝庫といわれている。

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/mutsumi/mummy/tetsumon.htm

Another Japanese Link

http://www.qkamura.or.jp/qkamura/cgi-bin/qkamura_html/6/outskirts.html

Honmyookai Shoonin 本明海上人, Temple Honmyoo-ji

If you believe in his power, your mental problems will be healed and your eyes will be sharp forever. He is sitting in the temple Honmyoo-ji.

山形県東岩本の真言宗本明寺の即身仏

天和三年（皇紀２３４３年）入滅。信心すれば病気、特に眼病に効果があるとされる。

http://i-otter.hp.infoseek.co.jp/kami/k_bho.html

Tetsuryuukai Shoonin 鉄竜海上人, grand-disciple of Tetsumonkai

< 06 picture of his mummy >

http://www.yamagatakanko.com/yodf/pimg/1845-1.jpg

He passed on in 1868, on the 8^th of the 8^th month、at the age of 62 years.

国内に24体ある即身仏の内の1体を安置。即身仏となった鉄竜海上人は全国各地を巡回し、月山仙人沢に山篭、明治元年(1868年)8月8日62歳で入寂した。

http://www.yamagatakanko.com/yodf/01/10/02/1845.html

上人は秋田県仙北町の生まれで、「入定留身にして後の世の人にを済度せん」との宣誓のもと、1000日の十穀絶ちの木食行を修行し、明治元年、62歳で入寂されました。

http://www.ques.co.jp/syonai/kanko/shisetu/stamp/st02.html

Chuukai Shoonin and Enmeikai Shoonin 忠海上人, 円明海上人

Both were priests at the temple Kaikoo-ji.

Chuukai passed away in 1755 and Enmeikai in 1822. This is the only temple which has two mummies.

明治時代に成ると法律が替わり、即身仏になる為の土中入定の、手助けをすると、殺人罪に問われるようになりましたので、明治時代からは、なった人はいません。
それでも、修行中の行者は居たわけです。修行中に明治になり、修行を中断したお坊さん

http://kaanegii.hp.infoseek.co.jp/kaikouji.htm

Grave of Enmeikai

< 07 Picture >

http://kaanegii.hp.infoseek.co.jp/kai-ennmeikai1.jpg

そのうち二体が砂高山海向寺の即仏堂に祀られています。同寺の住職、鉄門海上人も衆生済度の為、自ら即身仏となったと伝えられています。即仏堂には忠海上人（1755年入定）、円明海上人（1822年入定）の２体が安置され、いずれも五穀断ち、十穀断ち、1000日修行を積んだもので鉄門海上人の遺品その他も展示されています。
海向寺の住職は代々湯殿山独特の行法をつんでおり、湯殿山行者の秘法の寺として知られています。

http://www.city.sakata.yamagata.jp/Files/1/002252/html/kaikoji.htm

Bukkai Shoonin 仏海上人 Temple Kannon-ji

He found his end in the Meiji period, when officially this practise was abolished. After visiting the mummies of 18 other “predecessors”, he passed away in the year Meiji 36, on the 20^th of March. He was the last one to follow this tradition of asceticism.

See his stone memorial and the character BUTSU, Buddha in a special script.

http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~e-kiyo/sikiroku23.htm

真言宗のお寺で寺伝では、元和４年（１６１８）に宗海上人が開かれたとされている。仏海上人の即身仏（明治３６年３月２０日入寂で日本最後とされる）が奉安されていることでも有名。境内には仏海上人頌徳碑、他に句碑、鏡塚などがある。

http://www.iwafune.ne.jp/~osyagiri/jiten/k.htm

明治を生きた仏海上人まで、全国18体の即身仏を訪ね歩く。出羽三山の仙人沢、美濃の名だたる古刹、念仏がこだまする京の洞窟……。

http://www.shobunsha.co.jp/html/sinkan/2000/2k01-001n.html

現在の真言宗寺院(僧りょ)でこのような利剣名号信仰を奉持しているところがあるのだろうか。いずれにしろ、木食僧仏海上人は弘法大師(所伝)の南無阿弥陀仏(利剣名号)を信じていたのは確かだ。その土中入定処(土佐の入木村の小庵)にある念珠にもたしか南無阿弥陀仏を刻んでいたという話だ。

http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~e-kiyo/sikiroku23.htm

At the temple Kichijoo-ji there are 100 statues of Jizoo Bosatsu, engraved by Bukkai Shoonin.

< 08 picture >

http://www.niihama.info/umi/07.jpg

Kichijoo-ji 吉祥寺

真言宗の寺で、貞観年間(859～87年)に大島八幡神社が宇佐八幡宮から勧請された時に建立されました。飛び地境内にある地蔵堂には、現在の北条市出身の仏海上人が彫られた100体地蔵が安置されています。中央の地蔵の台裏には、寛保3(1743)年10月以吉日願主仏海如心と記されており江戸時代中期に作られた作品で、市指定の文化財です。

http://www.niihama.info/umi/umi.htm

Zenkai Hooshi 全海法師

< picture >

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/images/mummyzenkaihoshi.gif

He lived from 1602 till 1687. He started his practise of eating bark (mokujiki) in 1684.

A special festival in his favor is held on the 8^th day of July and on the 8^th of September. The whole village celebrates at the temple Kannon-ji.

松音院月山全海法師は1602年、現在の鹿瀬町に生まれている。1684年、五穀断ちを開始し、1687年死亡。全海法師は筏のりの守護神であり、脱腸治癒に霊験あらたかという。

脱腸のかたはぜひお参りを。とくに毎年7月8日と9月8日の2回、お祭典が行われるというから、これを逃す手はない。

松井山観音寺：新潟県東蒲原郡鹿瀬町菱潟村

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/mutsumi/mummy/zenkaihoshi.htm

Shuukai Shoonin 秀快上人

< picture of the temple altar>

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/images/mummyshinju.jpg

He was born in 1719 and entered the last position in 1780. He practised his asceticism at the Hase-temple inKyoto. Now he is in Niigata prefecture.

阿月秀快上人は1719年、藤井村生まれ。京都の長谷寺で修行した。1780年、入定したといわれている。

真珠院：新潟県柏崎市大字西長鳥甲502

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/mutsumi/mummy/shukaishonin.htm

Shinsoo Gyoojun Daigyooja, Shinshuu Gyoojun

心相行順大行者, 心宗行順大行者

Kubota Hikosaemon 久保田彦左衛門

< 09 picture of his mummy, clad in a blue robe >

http://www.valley.ne.jp/~niinosho/dentou/gyo1.jpg

His mummy is open for the public twice a year during public holidays, on the 29^th of April and the 15^th of September. On a festival in his honour villagers race around in sandals made of heavy iron and parade around the village.

< 10 picture of his grave stone >

http://www.valley.ne.jp/~niinosho/dentou/gyoujya1.jpg

行人様（久保田彦左衛門）は、江戸時代のはじめ、諸国修行を終えてから、新野の山にこもり、不食の行を成し、五穀豊穣を祈りながら入寂しました。新野を見下ろす、新栄山山頂の御堂に安置されています。写真は、御堂近くにある行者様を祭ったほこらです。毎年年２回、行人様例祭が行われています。
　特に敬老の日の行人様例祭では、行人様が鉄下駄を履いて修行をしていたことにちなんで、「鉄下駄レース」が開催されます。「鉄下駄レース」とは、新野の地区ごとにチームを作り、新野の町から新栄山まで鉄下駄を履いて山登りリレーをするものです。
　夜には花火大会も催され、２尺玉の花火も打ち上げられます。

http://www.valley.ne.jp/~niinosho/dentou/page2-3.htm

瑞光院の裏山、新栄山（通称行人山）の山頂の岩場に一宇のお堂があり、その中にはミイラになった行者様の尊いお姿が安置され、近郷近在の人々の信仰の的になっています。
　上の写真が「心宗行順大行者」、行人様、俗名　久保田彦左衛門その人であります。
　毎年　みどりの日（４月２９日）と敬老の日（９月１５日）に、ご開帳となり、一般の方もそのお姿を拝見することができます。

http://www.valley.ne.jp/~niinosho/dentou/page2.htm

Myooshin Shoonin 妙心上人

< 11 picture of his mummy, almost naked>

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/images/mummyyokokura.jpg

He was born in 1718 in Yokokura and passed away in 1815 in Yamanashi.

He spend most of his time leading pilgrims on to Mt. Fuji. He was brought back to his hometown during the Meiji period and is now seated in the Tempel Yokokuradeera in Gifu prefecture.

妙心上人は1781年に横蔵に生まれ、善光寺の万善堂で受戒されたのち、富士講の先達をつとめたりしていました。その後1815年ごろ現在の山梨県で入定したそうです。明治23年に生まれ故郷の横蔵に祀られることになりました。

両界山横蔵寺Ryokaizan Yokokura-ji
横蔵寺は岐阜県揖斐郡にある天台宗のお寺です。開山は伝教大師で、延暦20年（西暦801年）のことだそうです。鎌倉時代には百数十人の僧が住んでいたそうですが、織田信長にすべて取り上げられ、慶長年間に再建されたといわれています。

http://pws.prserv.net/hosaka/mutsumi/mummy/myoshinshonin.htm

Tanzei Shoonin 弾誓上人

< 12 picture of his statue, a national treasure (bunkazai)>

http://www2.city.omachi.nagano.jp/html/bunkazai/03/img/bunkazai44.jpg

He started his bark eating (mokujiki) around 1600. His statue is now in the temple Amida-ji in Kyoto.

His statue made of cedar wood (hinoki) statue is quite famous. It is 75 cm hgh and he is shown in his priest robes (noo-e).

ヒノキ材、寄木造、像高７５．０ｃｍ。衲衣（のうえ）の上に袈裟（けさ）をまとい、趺座（ふざ）して合掌する姿である。彩色は、糊粉下地上に頭部と両手は赤茶色に、衲衣を暗灰色に、袈裟を赤黒色にそれぞれ着彩し、顔面には髭を墨描きしてある。頭部の彫りは抑揚に富み、面相は前に立つ者へ語りかけるような温顔である。弾誓寺は中世に現大町市社の木舟地区から移された天台宗浄福寺（常福寺）がその前身である。

木食遊行僧（もくじきゆうぎょうそう）として知られていた弾誓上人が慶長年代はじめ（1600年ころ）衰微していた浄福寺を常念仏によって盛り返し、後に寛永１３年（1636）教えを継ぐ唱嶽長音（しょうがくちょうおん）が上人の徳を忍んで弾誓寺として中興開山した。木食僧はよく作仏したが、それは弾誓も長音も同様である。時代背景からこの像を１７世紀中頃の長音の作と見ることは難しくない。本像は江戸時代前期の常念仏盛行の様子をうかがわせる貴重な文化財である。

http://www2.city.omachi.nagano.jp/html/bunkazai/03/03culture005.html

Some pictures of the caves where he practiced ascetism.

< 13 picture >

http://homepage2.nifty.com/amida/syugyoukutu.jpg

Text

http://homepage2.nifty.com/amida/newpage14.html

本堂。開山の弾誓上人自作の自髪を植えた本尊と阿弥陀如来像が祀ってある.

< 14 picture of the temple >

http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/img/hstj/sakyo/9906-06.jpg

http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/jap/hstj/sakyo/amidaji3.html

Some pictures of the Amida Temple

http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/jap/hstj/sakyo/amidaji.html

http://futarinoyakata.web.infoseek.co.jp/amidaji.htm

Some beautiful stone statues of Buddhist deities in the compounds.

http://homepage2.nifty.com/amida/kuyoubutu-2.jpg

http://homepage2.nifty.com/amida/kuyoubutu-10.jpg

http://homepage2.nifty.com/amida/sekibutu-3.jpg

View more of them here:

http://homepage2.nifty.com/amida/kuyobutu.html

There are two books about these mummies in Japanese:

Look at the book covers with the mummies.

http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/imgdata/large/4653038058.jpg (15)

http://images-jp.amazon.com/images/P/4794962673.09.LZZZZZZZ.jpg (16)

Excerpt from a long scholarly essay

The Buddhist icon and the modern gaze

by Bernard Faure

Quote:

The famous mummy of Hui-Neng, the Zen patriarch in China

Sometimes Buddhist mummies, too, were used just like icons, as when the "flesh-body" of the Chan patriarch Huineng (d. 713) was paraded through town on a palanquin in times of drought, as a substitute for the icon of the Bodhisattva Guanyin.

The description of this "celebrated monster" given by Jesuit missionaries suggests that, like popular icons, this mummy had been blackened by the smoke of incense.(48) This raises the question of whether this flesh-body is the same as the lacquered, golden-colored mummy that was until recently visible at the Nanhua Monastery near Canton.

http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-EPT/bernard.htm

Copy is here

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DarumaArchives-002/message/24

Mokujiki, eating bark in the last stage of becoming a living mummy – we have heard that a few times. There was also an ininerant carver of Buddha statues, called by this name.

Mokujiki Shoonin 木食上人

< Picture of himself as a statue >

http://www.town.yagi.kyoto.jp/englishversion/image12.jpg

Some of his simple, unorthodox Buddha statues all over Japan.

http://www.town.yagi.kyoto.jp/mokujiki/kakuti.htm

In the Edo Period, the itinerant Buddhist priest Mokujiki Shoonin, known to have carved over 1,000 Buddhist statues during his travels throughout the country, visited Yagi-cho. He left statues of the 22 Arhats and other Buddhist figures which are now considered masterpieces and are kept in Seigen-ji.

http://www.town.yagi.kyoto.jp/englishversion/our%20history.htm

Mokujiki and the better knows caraver-priest Enkuu 円空　(Enku) will be subject of a later story.

Here is a final delicacy in connection with this topic and Haiku !

Curtesy to the World Haiku Club.

Through the Cloud Gate to Moon Mountain: A Journey in Oku
Tim Hornyak Tokyo, Japan

I woke to the sight of a steel-blue Sea of Japan to my left under the white wing of the 8:05 JAL out of Haneda. We were flying low, descending over a tatami floor of yellow and green - the rice fields of Akita. They are legend in Japan, I recalled, the Komachi strain honoring Ono no Komachi, the Heian beauty and poet said to have been the scion of this verdant northern backwater of the archipelago. Sucking in the pure Tohoku morning air on the ground, I could see it was harvest time here in Yuwa town, far from Tokyo. The plants were lying down in the fields, heavy with seed. I thought of the adage:

Minoru hodo
koube wo tareru
inaho kana

The more they ripen,
the lower they bow their heads
the ears of rice

These paddies also produce the main ingredient for some of the finest sake in Japan, and the depths of snow that cover them in winter is responsible, they say, for the lustrous white skin of Akita bijin, as the local belles are known. I could see a difference in the faces of the Japanese at the World Haiku Festival venue near the airport, my first destination in the north country. They had broader bone structure, were taller and somehow more solid than the inhabitants of the capital.

Their protocol was more substantial as well. A reception for the foreign conference guests was held at the restaurant Villa Flora on a hill overlooking a valley of rice. The Yuwa councilmen, our hosts, were decked out in blue suits, Brylcreem hair and thick-rimmed glasses. An emcee announced when the party would begin and end, speeches were made by the mayor and representatives of several haiku clubs. There were entertainments of traditional Akita songs with drum, shakuhachi and samisen accompaniment as well as dancing by middle-aged women in kimono.

We were asked to recite a haiku of our own composition, and I recalled visiting Basho's birthplace in Mie Prefecture a month earlier; Iga-Ueno was known as one of the two main centers for ninja, and before taking in a museum on the medieval assassins I had stopped at Basho's home. The large reconstructed main building seemed out of character with my image of the wayfarer, but nestled among the banana plants in the yard was his writing hut, which he called Chougekken -- literally, "Fishing Moon House". A nail dangled country footwear by the bare mats, and I pictured him composing after weeks on the road:

Straw sandals hanging
tatami by tatami...
tools to catch the moon

The bus to Kisakata, the following day, took us through emerald glens. Someone said Basho allegedly embarked on his Oku no Hosomichi odyssey because he was really a ninja and was on an intelligence-gathering mission for the Tokugawa shogunate. I laughed at the thought of a ninja weeping, as the sentimental poet often described himself doing.

Studded with pine, the "islands" of Kisakata were floating on a golden sea of rice in the sun. The 1804 earthquake that destroyed the lagoons had also replaced the cranes of Basho's day with crows. It was almost a Van Gogh painting. Amid the knolls, we could see hooded country women gathering rice cuttings and binding them to poles called haza. These looked like a row of people in traditional straw raincoats, the kind Basho and Sora wore while negotiating the muddy tracks. I later wrote the following:

Rice drying on poles...
a line of ancient pilgrims
frozen in the field

We were taken to Meiji poet Ishii Rogetsu's grave at a small hillside temple. Graveyards in Japan have always fascinated me; their wooden touba markers inscribed with Buddhist death-names, regular cleansing rituals, food and floral offerings. One cinerarium seemed a hive of life.

Withered offerings
bees crawl into cracks
in the family grave

That night, we held a moon-viewing party to honor the harvest moon. A bottle of the finest Akita sake, Hiraizumi, was brought along with pampas grass and other tokens. Our cheers finally coaxed it from behind a shroud of cloud, whereupon a toast was made. Later I repaired to a dark wooded patch away from the hotel lights and looked up; that magnificent moon seemed to be eyeing me through its veil.

Lying in long grass
I taste the harvest full moon
in my sake cup

I still had moon on the brain when I boarded an express train the next day for Tsuruoka, down the coast. I had long wanted to climb holy Gassan (Moon Mountain) in Yamagata, not because Basho had been there, but because of its association with the famed swordsmiths who lived on it and took the peak's name. They continue to practice their ancient art, as I learned when I once interviewed Nara sword maker Sadatoshi Gassan, the fifth generation of smiths since the Gassan school was relocated to Osaka around 1830. Their accumulated expertise is reflected in the master's prized blades, which seem living worlds in steel-silver dragons coiled around flowering plum trees, pearls floating over milky mists and the Chinese characters for "moon" and "mountain" engraved on the tang as a finishing touch.

I thought of the designs on the razor-sharp katana as I climbed the long stair through centuries-old cedars and mist to the summit of Mt. Haguro. The smith's lineage goes back about 800 years to the Kamakura Period, when Buddhist monks in the ascetic Shugendo sect needed swords to protect their disciples here, one of the three sacred peaks of Dewa Sanzan along with Gassan and Mt. Yudono -- said to represent birth, death and rebirth respectively. Sweating in the cold air, I reached the top of the stair at the shrine complex. The physical world seemed to dissolve at the gate.

Vermilion torii...
beyond it nothing
but mist

They say a handful of yamabushi mountain priests continues to live on Haguro year-round, but I saw none. The museum had an exhibit of round bronze mirrors that abbots of old placed in a local pond as a sign of dedication; its one ancient Gassan sword was not on display. I enjoyed a burst of sunshine in a garden of Jizo statues, pathetically dressed in unkempt layers of clothing to console the spirits of aborted fetuses, then caught one of the last buses of the year to Gassan.

The mist thickened as we climbed into wind and rain. When I got off at the Eighth Station, a gale was raking the volcano, driving cloud and fog over its chilly northern flank. I had hoped to cover the 8 kilometers to Yudono that afternoon, and with regret decided to wait out the storm in a lodge at Mida-ga-Hara, altitude 1,445 meters. After warming myself by a kerosene stove, I set off on a stroll over the marshy plateau through the mist. The alpine gentians were closed, and purple thistles provided the only spots of color in the shadowless grey-green void. I thought of Basho passing here before me, "through the cloud gate into the courses of the sun and moon."

Cold moor pool
grasses beneath the surface
move with the wind

The mist, confusing the visible and invisible, causing the mountainside to appear and disappear, hovered over the ponds like a spirit. I thought it was playing tricks on me when I saw two white, ghostly figures in the distance. As I approached, I could see they were sitting in the lotus posture and looking off into the moor, motionless in the rain. Were these phantoms of smiths who had tempered their swords in holy water, or shades of Yudono ascetics who fasted to death to become mummies? In the moment before I realized they were pilgrims practicing austerities, I felt as though I had passed through a gate into a Moon Mountain spirit-world where time itself does not pass.

Women chanting sutras
had seemed Buddhas from far
on misty Gassan

The storm didn't let up and I never did reach the summit. I accepted an offer of a lift back to Tsuruoka the next day from a worker at the lodge. The sun was shining in the valley below as we drove under the massive torii at the foot of Haguro. Behind us was Gassan, rising out of the cedar forests and vanishing into cloud.

http://www.worldhaikureview.org/2-3/whf2002recollections_hornyak.shtml

Artwork, "Torii, Yudono-san" by D. W. Bender

"Through the Cloud Gate to Moon Mountain: A journey in Oku" is an Editor's Choice selection in this issue

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo