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Recently we had a participant enter our Masters Yamabushi Training for the second time in as many years. They noted they had flashbacks (of the good kind) from their time in the mountains.

It’s the same for me.

It’s hard to describe to people who have never done yamabushi training, but it leaves such a huge mark in your memory that memories of your time in the mountains come flooding back at the randomest of times.

And this is a good thing.

I’m sure for some there are bad memories. Yamabushi training is not exactly a walk in the park. But for the most part, a reminder that you are alive and an integral part of this big world is just what the doctor ordered.

So I’m heading into the mountains again.

Monday marks the start of the Akinomine, The Autumn’s Peak Ritual held through Dewa Sanzan Jinja. This is our yamabushi initiation ritual, it’s what we do to become an “official” yamabushi, which basically means you’re registered and receive a yamabushi name. It’s also one big thing we do to retain our yamabushiness per se.

The Autumn’s Peak ritual is a weeklong affair and ends with the Hassaku festival at the summit of Haguro-san on August 31st, and a long parade down Haguro-san on the 1st of September. Besides this coming Monday when we go up, the general public can come and see both of these, and it would be amazing to have you there!

Not only can you see 120-odd fully-clad yamabushi chanting and blowing their conches, you get an insight into a custom that has origins from over 1,000 years ago, which for those counting is before humans existed in New Zealand!

This will be my fourth time joining, and every single time it is a real honour. I get nervous every time I enter as I just have no idea what is going to happen. Which isn’t entirely true, there will be a lot of praying, a lot of seiza (sitting on your knees), and it wouldn’t be yamabushi training without myriad outdoor adventures, would it!?

Here's what I wrote about the experience last year:

This Yamabushi Brought me to Tears

But the unpredictability is what keeps things exciting. It’s what keeps us on our toes, and keeps us wanting more. Sure, something objectively bad could and most likely will happen, but at the same time something equally good or even more so could also eventuate. What matters is not so much how you perceive it, but rather how you choose to perceive it.

Either way, I’ve packed my Kori, a straw box thing we use instead of a suitcase, have been practicing my conch and chanting, and my Seiza, or at least stretching my hamstrings, and am getting really excited for what’s about to go down!

I’ll see you on the other side!

This article from the Kiwi Yamabushi newsletter got more than 1,000 reads, so I decided to put it here for everyone. Get articles just like this in your inbox by signing up here. Paid subscribers get priority access and access to the full archive of over 100 articles.