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.

The X-Factor

Do you want a run-of-the-mill rugby player, or would you rather someone with the X-Factor? The answer here should be obvious, but what if that player came with weaknesses that could cost them the game? Would you still take them? Actually, I would. I would prefer to have someone who has the ability to win […]

Freelance Universal Income

You know the universal income? Well, I was thinking of a way that I feel would be fair for someone employing me. For the past few years I’ve been sort of away from a salary or being paid per hour, not completely yet, but it’s a method that I much rather prefer. I don’t like […]

The Last Samurai and the All Blacks

151 years ago, at the dawn of the Meiji Restoration, having admitted defeat the Shonai Clan were expecting a harsh punishment, such as the forfeiture of land, a large fine, or the sending of troops and officials to other parts of the country, to be dealt to them at the hands of Kuroda Kiyotaka, a […]

Fine China

Aesthetically pleasing. Serves tea. Valuable. Special significance. Sits in a cupboard. Takes up space. Why do we have it? You realise how useless some things are when you're put in charge of cleaning up after someone else. I'm not going to let that become me. Get rid of stuff if you never use it, you're […]

Fanboying

This morning I went for a swim at my local swimming hole and who should show up but the Hurricanes rugby team. I’ve been a fan of this team since before they started way back in the mid-90s, and to see them in real life was something special. It was just two nights ago that […]

Make yourself the default option

I’ve realised that in a few areas I have become the default option. By being one of the only native-English-speaker bilinguals in my region, I am consulted by people when it comes to internationalization. I have been asked to help with developing the Dewa Sanzan and recently with the development of Sakata City as an […]

It’s Better to Share

If you live alone, it's hard to get the motivation to cook or make something special that takes a bit of effort. I'm about to head back home to my family, and my mindset has shifted from last week when I was cooking for myself to all the things I can make now that it's […]