KIWI YAMABUSHI
The Japan you never knew you wanted to know.
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WHAT IS A YAMABUSHI?
In short, yamabushi are the mountain dwellers of Japan. Since ancient times, yamabushi have practiced the Shugendo, the way (do) of attaining divine natural powers (gen) through ascetic practices (shu). Otherwise known as Shugenja, ‘those who practice Shugendo’, the word yamabushi comes from Yama (山) meaning mountain, and fushi or fuseru (伏せる), meaning to promulgate, or to be on all fours. This is because yamabushi are often found crawling all over the mountains during Shugyo ascetic training.
BECOMING YAMABUSHI
By becoming a yamabushi, I have learned what it means to appreciate nature, and through this appreciation I feel Ikigai, which I define as the desire to live well. It is my wish for those around the world who are struggling to have the chance to learn from my experience, to perhaps join yamabushi training (it’s not a requirement, but it definitely helps), and to discover Ikigai for themselves.
I have written a blog post every day since the start of 2019 about becoming a yamabushi, my yamabushi philosophy, and creativity.
100 FAMOUS MOUNTAINS OF YAMAGATA
In 2021, I set out to summit and document all 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata on my YouTube channel and blog.
FEATURED POSTS
YAMABUSHI BLOG POSTS
A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE MOUNTAINS
IN THE MEDIA
Besides my personal channels, YouTube, Instagram and the like, I have featured on multiple other YouTube channels and on podcasts. See the entire list on this page.
CONTACT ME
YouTube
Sakata City, Yamagata, Japan
timb008@gmail.com
All photos my own. Contact for more.