Home - Tim Bunting

TIM BUNTING

KIWI YAMABUSHI

Kia ora koutou. I’m Tim Bunting, the Kiwi Yamabushi.

I’m a practicing Dewa Sanzan Yamabushi, a Japanese mountain ascetic based in Yamagata Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. Since 2016, I’ve trained in Haguro Shugendō under Master Fumihiro Hoshino through Daishobō, a pilgrim’s lodge on Haguro-san, and through Dewa Sanzan Jinja.

If you’re interested in experiencing Shugendō for yourself, check out Yamabushido.jp. Tell them I sent you.

In my spare time, I share stories from the overlooked corners of Japan, especially here in Tōhoku. I publish a Substack newsletter with over 1,500 subscribers, write a daily blog, and post videos on YouTube (over 1,000 subscribers). You’ll find me on most platforms as @kiwiyamabushi.

I’m currently on a mission to summit and document all 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata.

I’m available for:

Online consultation
Public speaking (in English or Japanese)
Guided experiences on the Dewa Sanzan (via Yamabushidō.jp or DewaSanzan.com)

As a Master Yamabushi and the creator of DewaSanzan.com, I believe I’m the most knowledgeable native English speaker on these sacred mountains.

MOUNTAINS OF YAMAGATA

Here are a few posts of my adventures climbing the 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata. Read about the project here, or view all articles here.

ALL

DAILY YAMABUSHI

Here are some of my Daily Yamabushi posts. Get more here.

Simple Ignorance, Petty Jealousy

No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter where you go, there will always be someone who is offended by your presence. Most often it's simple ignorance or petty jealousy, but someone is always going to dislike something about you. The worst is when it's someone whom you trust or has […]

Beating the resistance: Don’t even think about it, just do it

Nike is right. Just do it. Today there were two times when I fought the resistance and won. It may not seem like much, but 'carpe diem', I count it as a victory. First, I was in a meeting with Sakata City delegates including the mayor. At one point I was asked to describe my […]

Culture getting in the way of progress

In Japan, or at least where I live, I was surprised by the number of solely-run small businesses in the area. Well, that's not exactly surprising judging by the track records of Japanese companies (so-called 'Black Companies run rampant here), but what was surprising was that basically all of these places have one day off […]

The last 200m

Is always the toughest. When I swim 800m, the point where I most often feel like giving in is about the 600m mark. 3/4 in, you know it'd be such a waste to stop then. But then I know I can rely on adrenaline to get me over. The same thing happened with my MA, […]

Going against the grain and following orders

If it's true that when you go against the grain, when you do the opposite of what everyone says you should do, that you have to take responsibility when things go wrong, the opposite should also hold true. When you do exactly what everyone else does, when you simply follow orders, this doesn't mean you […]

Control Freaks

Confrontation looked down on? Check. Large-scale acquiescence? Check. Japan's culture makes it easy for control freaks to take control. I feel that part of Japanese culture is knowing when not to take advantage of other people, a bit of self-constraint. But sometimes, for some people, that's just not possible. Giving them free-reign to do so […]

Breaking free

'For me money is important, yet I didn't want to spend my life working for it. That is why I didn't want a job.' -Robert Kiyosaki, Cashflow Quadrant Exactly how I feel, but not what I'm doing. I'm waiting for more stability I guess. I wonder if that's necessary though? Does part of you not […]