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.

Vocabulary Learning in a Second Language

In this post I will give some tips on learning vocabulary in a second language that have been proven to be effective through empirical studies. Firstly you need to know what vocabulary you should learn, which means you should have a good idea of your current level. For anyone learning English as a Second language it […]

Ways to learn vocabulary in a second language

Finding the vocabulary you should learn is the easy part, actually learning it is much more difficult. There are two main ways vocabulary can be learnt and there are a few terms for each way; intensive/ explicit learning is when you purposefully study words through lists or word cards etc. Extensive or implicit learning is […]

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

In my Sociocultural Theory classes the focus recently has been on Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD is the difference between what someone can learn by themselves, known as the Actual Development Level (ADL), and what they can learn with assistance. Say for example you have two 10 year old students who when […]