Yamabushi

are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto.

Their origins can be traced back to the solitary yamabito (wild hill people) and some (wandering Buddhist renunciants) of the eighth and ninth centuries.

According to American writer Frederik L. Schodt:

Clothing and items

The Yamabushi usually wear and bring the following clothes and items with them:

• Yuigesa (), a harness or sash adorned with pom-poms
• Kyahan (), sandals made from straw
• Tokin () which is a small hat-like adornment worn at the front of the head
• Shakujō (), a metal rod, held in their hands
• Oi (), backpack
• Horagai (), a conch shell, which they blow like a horn to bind evil spirits

See also

• Cunning folk
• Mount Ōfuna
• Rishi
• Shaolin Monastery
• Hericium erinaceus

Further reading

References