Daily Yamabushi

A coach can know all the tricks in the book inside and out, but they can only play with the cards they are dealt. This is one of the things I love about sports, that the players and coaches have to understand their own strengths and weaknesses, and how to best utilize the unique skills each player brings and how to best mitigate their weaknesses.

Of course you can train new players or teach new tricks, but that comes with a certain opportunity cost, so it’s interesting to see where time and money are invested, and even better when you see it pay off.

This is why you see teams having certain requirements for certain positions, all in the name of a certain goal. We can think about this in the same way for how we want to achieve our goals as well.

All projects should either have an end date, or a set time in which you have to make a decision over whether you’re going to continue with it or not. Not only that, each party needs to have a similar out, and they need to know that that out exists.

An easy way to do this would be, ‘let’s try it out for so-and-so length of time, I’m also trying to do so-and-so (excuse).’ The length of time is entirely up to you, and the so-and-so excuse should be something personal like a long term goal or family-wise that you can always fall back on.

Too many times have I started a project and found it hard to get out of once I felt it had run its course. Too many times have I wanted for an out, but I’m too polite to actually say anything. This way you have a way of getting out that shouldn’t offend people, and will leave your relationship relatively unscathed.

Devon Conway recently made a splash with his double century at Lord’s, and two respectable innings to follow up. Conway embodies a philosophy that I couldn’t have put better myself; play the ball not the bowler.

This is in response to some of the most successful and also longest-working bowlers in the history of the sport, Anderson and to an extent Broad, whose reputation is enough to have you shivering in your whites. But if we’re to have any form of success, we have to put their reputation (added pressure) to the side, and face the ball (the situation) right in front of us, just as Conway does.

Sorry for the cricket analogies, but I think they’re really useful, and I try to make the point about life rather than the obscure sport that is cricket.

On what was one of my last tournament water polo games, one person in particular made a mistake that cost us the game. It wasn’t an important game, probably for 7th or 8th or something, but this one act cast a pretty deep shadow on our tournament as a whole.

But it really shouldn’t have. We should have been good enough that any such situation was avoided in the first place. We should have covered our bases and made sure that small mistakes like these aren’t enough to cost us the game.

It’s amazing how such small mistakes can have such profound implications. The implications are so profound, often it is easy to blame the person that made the mistake. But if it’s a team effort, it’s a team mistake.

Likewise, when you make a mistake that can cost you dearly, that mistake is more of a symbol than the deciding factor. As such, you shouldn’t focus too much on the smaller mistakes, but think of how you can make it so even if these mistakes happen, you still come out on top.

If you treat these mistakes as casting a shadow on your tournament, that negative energy carries on into the future, which helps no one. These mistakes give you the chance to learn what can go wrong, and they give you the chance to address them in future, so really they are a blessing in disguise.

Kane Williamson is the sort of player that can take a game away from the other team. His temperament is second to none, and he has the uncanny ability to play the situation well is basically any game. In last week’s game, however, he was all but effective, getting out very cheaply in both innings.

Even if your top performer has an off day, they still do a very important job of taking attention from other players in your team and tempting the other team to do unorthodox things.

Team sports are team sports though, and one strong player can only get you so far. Not only does the strong player need to be a strong player, they need to be a team player, showing sacrifice when necessary and leading by example. These are attributes that Kane Williamson holds that I think many of us, myself included, could learn a lot from to create a truly strong team.

Do you ever get the urge to just check your email, and then ten minutes later you realise you’re ‘doing the rounds’, checking your email and social media in a non-stop cycle? It’s obviously a terrible idea to be doing this, but I guess that’s what happens when the smartest brains in the world are incentivized to work at such companies. And it gets worse.

You have minimal control over what you get to see on these sites, especially with the advertising, and it’s possible that something that disrupts your thought patterns could turn up. The other night I was ‘doing the rounds’ and I came across something that got me really worked up. It got me so worked up I could hardly sleep. When it gets to that point, you need to stop and think, is this really worth losing sleep over? The answer is always no.

And so I’ve started to charge my phone in a rather inconvenient location a few hours before sleep, which incentivises me not to touch it until morning at least. This coupled with a rule that you can’t touch your phone until you’ve been awake for 30 minutes I find is a good way to detox.

And I’m starting to think I should only allow myself to use my phone for within 12 hours a day, a sort of phone fast. Have you tried something similar?

Some people would have you believe that learning a second language is nigh on impossible. I hear a whole lot of complaints from people saying so-and-so is too difficult for them, or that the language or culture is just too far removed from their native language. I don’t agree with these people for a second. Sure mastery in that second language may be nigh on impossible, but you can still at least gain some level of ability in a second language without too much effort (memorising the most common vocabulary, including pronunciation, and a few key sentences, then mixing and matching the vocabulary you’ve learned). The sustained long-term effort is where I think people get tripped up. You need something strong to motivate you to continue learning the language even after the fact.

High schools and the like can only motivate you so far. So, I think it’s a great idea to see the world through the eyes of a speaker of a different language, so that you too can get a sense for experiencing the world in an entirely different cultural lens. You could argue that that is impossible these days, and I would agree to an extent with that, but other languages are increasingly becoming more and more accessible thanks to modern technology.

I understand how much prolonged effort it takes to learn a second language; I have learned what is one of the most removed languages from English, so I know it’s possible, but I also know that you have to have something that keeps you in the race, something pushing you to go the distance. In my case, I was just completely baffled by Japan and the Japanese culture and history and found myself constantly wanting to learn more. That is what has gotten me to this place. Now it’s just a matter of helping others find the same sort of reasons to motivate themselves to put in the long time work it takes to go the distance.

Every once in a while I head into the mountains (or go for a run, or swim etc.) with a particular problem in mind, or something that I’m seeking an answer to. What usually happens is that, partway through being there you seem to forget what your problem is in the first place.

This might seem like a problem, but what it means is that your subconscious is working away at this problem in the background as you go about your task. That’s why doing things that force you into the moment can help you think straight, or at least that’s been the case in my experience. Then when you snap back to ‘reality’, you find that your mind has progressed some way to finding a solution to your problem.

Master Hoshino always says, ‘what you sense. That is the answer.’ While this can be seen to be covering all bases, I find that often this really is the way. If you have a problem or some big decision you’re mulling over, trust that the solution truly does lie within you.

Thought about another way, where else could this solution come from? You’re going to have to make the decision sometime, but this way you’ve let both your conscious and subconscious mull things over; not just your logical-thinking brain, but your heart as well, and that’s where the best answers are.

When I do stuff like baking or making coffees for other people, I start to imagine life as a cafe owner or even just a staff member. But to be honest, I don’t know if I’d ever be able to do that, unless it was entirely on my own terms. However, if something is entirely on your own terms, if you’re doing it entirely for your own purpose, your patron could lose out, and you could even lose business altogether.

I think it’s about finding a balance between the two. It’s about being generous to both yourself and your patron. This is by no means limited to hospitality as well.

This blog, for example, I originally started only for purely selfish reasons, but I’ve been slowly trying to make it more for other people. Which then leads to the question who’s it for, and why should they care, I guess that’s where you should start from.

Looking after things and giving them a regular clean can really help you appreciate them. I had the chance recently to help clean Daishobo pilgrim lodge’s Shinden, which is three separate alcoves full of any number of sacred objects. Some of the things there would be over 100 years old, but they have been lovingly looked after the whole time, with regular cleaning by many generations of Yamabushi who came before me.

This means that I was able to see first hand the craftsmanship and care that went into making these artifacts. Cleaning them made me really appreciate the artifacts for what they are. I think I understand the whole wax on wax off thing now, well at least a little bit.

If you take the time to care for something, you find that it can also care for you in a metaphorical way.

I’ve been reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, and in it he mentions the concept of residue in regards to switching tasks. When you switch from one task to another, you are at risk of not fully concentrating on that new task as there is “residue” left over from the last task. I can fully get this. It’s not uncommon for me to switch between tasks throughout the day, from teaching to online meetings to writing to making videos, the list goes on. I also quite often find my mind wandering in each of these tasks if I’m not being careful. This wandering I think has a lot to do with the residue from earlier work.

To counteract this, well, you probably want to ensure big breaks between different types of tasks, but I like add some sort of buffer zone in my calendar if I can. This can simply be a normal break where you have 15 minutes to get away from your work, or in my case I like to spend time making coffee or another warm drink (recently I’ve been making Matcha lattes), and I find this time away from task is helpful at resetting my mind and getting it ready for something else.

I’ve always said that every day we should be doing something that forces us into the moment, something where we can just let our mind wander, something creative, or something else that requires concentration, and I think these sorts of tasks would be great for forming this buffer between tasks and helping rid the residue. For me that often comes in the form of manually making a coffee, but it can also be something like stretching or even writing for that matter.

Of course Cal’s suggestions are also good, but I’ll let him take care of that part 🙂

Japan has an entirely unnecessary relationship with stamping things and doing things on paper, and today it meant I had to physically go to the post office to send something that in the 21st century can be done by email. I know this is just a rant, but I’m not going to shut up until it changes. This is just ridiculous for 2021, and I’m guessing it’s because the person in charge is old-fashioned (that’s putting it politely).

If something ain’t right, don’t shut up until it is. If you aren’t in a position to make the changes yourself, then the people able to make the change need to know that it’s necessary. You could argue that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but this to me is like purposely choosing to own and ride a horse as opposed to a car. I truly wonder when things will change here.

Rant over.

What’s the meaning of life? That’s easy. To live in the moment. Not just living in the moment, but appreciating it. Easier said than done of course, but I think this does answer a whole lot of problems if I’m being honest. Every once in a while, people come to me with some sort of conundrum, and a lot of the time this is what it stems from. Too stuck in the past, thinking too much of things that have come before. Or on the other hand, too anxious about the future. Worried they won’t be good enough or that things won’t turn out well. Well, things turning out at all is things turning out well, and you have to try your hardest to be able to enjoy it while it does. That’s what it means to be alive. That’s what it means to be in the now.

I know this sounds harsh, but I don’t mean it to be. I mean it in a positive way, that sometimes we all need to try and simply appreciate what we have, and sometimes this appreciation is missing. This is why gratitude is such a powerful motivator. If you’re reading this and looking for practical advice, start by thinking of three things that you are appreciative of. I’ll start you off. The very fact that you can read this, that you have the ability to read it, that you have a device to read it, that you have the patience to get this far, that is a virtue in itself, and you should thank yourself for allowing yourself to get here. One appreciation at a time, not just living in the moment, but appreciating it. That to me is things turning out well.

I think this is quite obvious, but different types of content need different channels. The sort of stuff I write on my daily blog is quite different to that which I want to write about the 100 mountains project, and I think I need to separate them a bit.

To that end, I added a medium blog at blog.timbunting.com. First I’m testing the waters, and there’s still a bit I have to do behind the scenes, I’m still trying to figure out exactly how medium works, but it’s going great so far. Having separate medium publications seems to be where it’s at, and now that I’ve connected the domain I just need to change up a few areas and I should be good to go.

I’m tossing whether to stop this daily blog and just focus on weekly content but with a longer format, but for starters I’ll try the current method of daily posts and then other content when I can I guess.

Think nothing of it. No matter what it is. Once we put significant meaning on something, we react in sometimes unhelpful ways. Best to try not to think about something and wait until the original feelings simmer out somewhat before reacting.

So, when something happens and our first instinct is to react, don’t. Think nothing of it, and wait until you have a deeper understanding of the implications. Once you have this understanding, you can react in a positive way.

The reason why Yamabushi wear their shime necklaces facing behind them is that it protects us from evil that comes from places we cannot see. But this isn’t to say that good will come from places that we can see.

The future is invisible. We have no way of knowing what will happen. So, first you shouldn’t worry about it, and second, you shouldn’t fear it.

I think it’s a waste to consider the future deeply, but sometimes we can’t help it. What to do in that situation?

It’s true that the invisible can bring what can be construed as negative, but if you allow yourself to see things just as they are, as neither negative nor positive, it just is, then that’s the right first step.

Thought about this way, an experience is an experience. It is neither here nor there. But the fact that you got to have the experience, that to me is a gift in itself. If you are grateful for having had the experience, you can start to see things more positively, and move on.

The whole day I’ve been thinking about how Mt. Haguro has two main paths to the top, with both seemingly having equal claim to being the main path up. Obviously the stone stairway on the Tsuruoka side wins out, type in Mt. Haguro and that’s what comes up, but I can’t help but feel sorry for the Haguro Kodo route. There were some really cool looking artefacts down in the little spot called Subeno that looked much older than some of the things found on the other side.

I think it’s precisely because they both have an equal claim that the situation is that the Tsuruoka side, the stronger of the two since it holds Dewa Sanzan Shrine, wins out. But I can’t help but think that they could both help each other out by being more co-operative. That there were no signs of the path from the top of Mt. Haguro is saying a lot. They seem to really not want people using the path. Contrast this with the signs on the Tachiyazawa (Shonai Town) side and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the official route. It was purportedly the route that Prince Hachiko, the man who opened up the mountains for spiritual training, and Matsuo Basho, the man who really put Haiku on the map, and that to me says quite a lot. How many people would want to follow in their footsteps? Tons!

There’s a common aim here, sustainable tourism. Looking from the outside it’s easy to see that working together would be a great way forward, but I guess they just don’t see it that way. Or maybe I am just assuming too much. I haven’t verified any of this information, I guess I should probably find someone who is able to talk about it… next port of call perhaps. Anyway, this infighting only goes to against the main mission and really needs to stop. Put aside your differences, which are often petty, and get on with the job.

The ancient Japanese art of Kyudo, otherwise known as Japanese archery, is a very good way to train your brain. Any teacher of Kyudo would tell you that you focus on form, rather than the target, and that’s how you do a good job. But one practical part of Kyudo that I never realized until a teacher told me was that it was always the first step in Samurai training.

The reason for this is, if you have a bow and your enemies are coming at you, you can get them before they get close to you. Hand to hand or sword to sword combat was only a last resort. As is still the case, the wisest swordsman (used to include all sexes) is the one who never draws their sword, but I don’t think they had this tactic in mind.

It’s not so much the writing, more the having written. What a great and extremely apt quote. Like many things, writing can feel like a real chore at times. But if you can get through and produce something, then the feeling of satisfaction at completing it can be quite something. Then you also have the advantage of looking back and having written something.

This was the philosophy I took into doing my MA. When I was on either my last or second to last trimester, I remember wanting to quit then and there. But I kept at it with the knowledge that once you get it, they can never take it away from you. I’m beginning to feel the same with this blog and my videos. While it might be hard while you’re making something, once you’ve done it, they can’t take it away from you. At the same time, you know that you have to give your best to every endeavour your undertake so that you can say you gave your best, and you leave as little up to fate as possible. Now I just need to push myself more to truly give my best every time!

Yesterday I watched Ex Machina. I enjoyed the movie, even the predictable ending, but the part that really interested me was when they discussed one of Jackson Pollock’s works, saying ‘what if instead of making art, he (Pollock) said ‘I can’t paint anything unless I know exactly why I’m doing it’ -what would have happened?’ What indeed.

Busy does not equal important. This is something I constantly have to remind myself of when I find myself doing things that may not be the best use of my time. Sometimes I think that being busy means that I’m doing something important, but then I finish whatever it is I’m doing and realise that it wasn’t all that important, and was doing it for the sake of keeping busy.

This probably stems from a sort of fear we have of being idle, or at least I have that fear, and I’m constantly thinking up stuff to do to keep myself engaged. I think this is a good thing though, I couldn’t imagine lying on a beach all day, and I also dislike gaming because of the addictive tendencies it has that stop me from doing something creative (although, you can very easily be creative in a computer game). You just have to be sure that what you are doing is not just for the sake of keeping you busy I guess. And at the same time, you don’t exactly need a clear purpose to do anything either.

A few weeks back, I made a video of our hike up Mt. Takadate, but when I ‘finished’ it, it didn’t feel quite right. Since then, I didn’t have much time to look at the video, but I’ve gone back to it just now, and I’m really glad I had that gap as there were a lot of glaring issues with the editing. This gap has given me fresh eyes that mean I can now do a better job at trying to portray the story I wish to portray. It’s a beautiful mountain, but I feel the GoPro just doesn’t do it justice. Will need to bear this in mind for future videos.

There’s not much I can do about the bad footage. I just have to keep in mind that walking creates a jarring action that doesn’t portray very well in video, especially in a low-light environment like the forests of Mt. Takadate. The solution to that is the duck walk, as many people will be aware of. Likewise, I need to do a better job at panning a bit slower, as the footage does turn into a bit of a blur. Either that, or I need to use my other camera for panning, GoPros aren’t that good for cinematic stuff, I’ve found, more just general recording. I got the GoPro for general recording anyway, so maybe I need to look at my other options for getting more cinematic stuff. Like a drone.

This gap in the editing process also reminded me a lot of my essays during my Masters’ course, and also translation. Once you get your main ideas out onto the page, I would recommend taking some sort of time away from the screen before continuing. Not only will you be thinking about the project in the background, which I’ve found can lead to insights, these fresh eyes can then give you greater understanding into just how you wish to express what needs to be expressed. This is why, if you’re on a deadline, you have to get this idea process out as soon as possible. If you have no time, I guess you have to wing it, but getting your ideas out early, and then coming back I’ve found is a pretty good way to go about things.

Today I got to climb a route up Mt. Haguro that I had never been to before. I’ve been on Mt. Haguro probably more than 100 times (this is not an exaggeration), but I had never climbed up the Haguro Kodo (old Haguro path).

I had heard where the path comes out only days prior and was shocked that it came out where it did because I had no idea there was even a path there. There’s no signs or anything from the top, you sort of just have to know. Which is strange because there is signage from the entrance and on the way up.

I think this happens because the path crosses the border between two municipalities, Shonai town to the east where the path originates, and Tsuruoka to the west where it ends. The people from Shonai town claim that this was the original path up the mountain, and the relics certainly would give them credit, but the Shrine and the Tsuruoka side seems basically to want nothing to do with it.

For someone living here in rural Japan, I see this sort of thing happens a lot. Towns located right next to each other hardly communicate on projects of mutual benefit, and they sometimes do things like this to sort of spite each other.

It’s true that there is a lot of history, and they may have very valid reasons to not want to work with one another, but aren’t you past this petty schoolyard stuff? Can’t you see the bigger picture and know that it’s not your town versus the one located next to you, and rather you and that town versus the world?

When you have a problem with someone, or you have spotted something like a mistake or something, take it up with them quietly. Then, talk it through and look for a solution. No need to badmouth one another or try and get the upper hand. Doing so just makes you appear weak, and could have the opposite effect of what you want, especially if it gets in the way of progress for the region.

Rant over.

I purposely tried to do something unique that I can provide great value with, or at least try to do that. Either way, I think I’ve found that with Yamabushi. It’s unique and niche, and it’s also I think extremely valuable to the right people, if you value living well that is. However, being unique like this does come with its own problems.

For example, it’s hard to emulate unique tasks. There are times when we may want another us to get things done, but it’s harder to find someone able to do so. I guess this is a good problem to have though, you know there is value in what you’re doing, and you also have a chance of sharing this value creation with someone else.

Although, I think this could also be seen as pride, as it’s as if we’re saying we’re the only person who can do the job. In many cases that can be true, but the jobs can also be broken down into individual tasks that can then be copied.

I have read the e-myth, and remember where they talk about making jobs easy to duplicate, or easy for anyone to do. I don’t agree with this completely, I think as much as possible everyone should have some sort of variability or creativity in their jobs (which is of course possible depending on the job).

So we need to find some sort of midway, where jobs are replicable in some way. I think it would help to record the tasks and see exactly what is going on. Then, you’ll be able to delegate the tasks. If anything, this will make you more productive overall. And it would also give more management experience as well.

We can work backwards on these things too. We know what needs to be done, and we can then break down the minimal tasks required to do so, and find someone to get them done. Whether that be us personally or not.

When you’ve started to accept your situation for what it is, sometimes it can be hard for others to accept that you have accepted it. Sometimes your acceptance of it can seem like arrogance too. Like you shouldn’t have accepted things so easily. But we all accept things in different ways, and we accept different things in different ways too. Sometimes I get surprised at myself for accepting things so easily. But I guess that with practice, acceptance does seem to come easier.

Your acceptance of one thing can lead to an easier acceptance of the next thing. There is much to learn from your own acceptance. Accept it, and embrace it.

This morning I woke up and as I sat on the toilet I looked out the window to see what the weather was up to. Great, another cloudy day, just like yesterday. But then, my gaze moved towards the mirror, where the same window was showing the complete opposite: blue sky.

I feel we have to search for the positive in every moment. It’s a struggle to do so, but the opposite is even more of a struggle. The negative always seems to find its way in. But mitigating the negative could be as simple as looking out the window from another angle. I suggest you try it.

(On a related note) I just went out for a run. Usually, if it’s cloudy, I can’t see Mt. Gassan nor Mt. Chokai. Today, Mt. Gassan was nowhere in sight, but Mt. Chokai certainly wanted to say hello. Long story short, my run turned into another photography session.

I try to keep my weekends as weekends. Time to spend away from work, or what I would consider work, and time to spend at home. I didn’t get a chance to do that these past two days, and I’m starting to feel fatigue set in.

This was a combination of a job that could only be done yesterday that I needed to put in extra work to prepare for, and a job that I couldn’t finish through the week, that I should have finished but didn’t have the time to.

These things happen I guess, and I think I need to better manage my time. I’ve since gone and put the next jobs I have to do on my calendar, along with a section for a break, I think I deserve it. It’s tough balancing a lot of projects, I think I might really need to start saying no to things (more, I guess), which is a good position to be in, but also tough in its own way.

This is unsustainable, put simply. I want to have time to work on my personal projects, but if I keep accepting jobs like this, I won’t be able to. I need to slow it down a bit and give myself more space and more time.

The Jotoshiki (roof-raising ceremony) is a ceremony to pray for the safety of the building after completion, and is usually held once the basic structure, such as the pillars, ridges, and beams, are completed, and a ridgepole is raised into place. It is a chance for the builders and others related in the construction to collectively celebrate the core structure being built, and to eat and be merry as we pray to the Kami deities.

There are a number of rituals performed before the Jotoshiki Ceremony:

Shubatsu Ritual (Purification) 修祓

Shubatsu is a ritualistic purification of the attendants, so they are worthy of being in the presence of the Kami. This is often done with a staff with white lightning-rod shaped paper being swung over the heads of attendants as they bow deeply.

Kojin no Gi Ritual (Inviting of the Kami to join) Ritual 降神の儀

The Kojin no Gi Ritual is when we invite the Kami deities to possess the symbolic tree placed at the location of the Jotoshiki. Here, the Horagai Conch is sounded by a Yamabushi to invite the Kami deity.

Kensen no Gi Ritual 献饌の儀

In the Kensen no Gi, we dedicate food to the Kami, often fresh vegetables and fish from the local market, but also sake and rice.

Norito Sojo 祝詞奏上 (recitation and performance of Norito prayers)

During the Norito Sojo, we pray for the endless prosperity of the participants.

And then we are ready to begin the Jotoshiki Ceremony proper, starting with the Toboku-Barai no Gi.

Toboku-barai no Gi 棟木祓の　(beam-purification)

There are five coloured flags around the building that stand for each of the elements: wood, fire, water, metal, and soil. These each need to be purified. Then the chief builder will use a hemp cloth to purify the beams.

Tsuchiuchi no Gi 槌打の儀 (beam-striking)

Then the Tsuchiuchi no Gi 槌打の儀 where the beams are ceremoniously struck with a hammer to stabilise the structure. Here the builders knock the beans and shout ‘Senzai to, Manzai to, Eiei to’. Senzai Manzai means to exist for millions of years, and Eiei means eternal prosperity.

Tamagushi Hairei 玉串拝礼 (dedication of evergreen leaves to the Kami)

A ceremonial branch of an evergreen tree is dedicated to the Kami. Representatives from the attendants one by one take the Tamagushi branch and rotate it clockwise so that the base of the branch faces the Kami (the altar). The representative then bows deeply twice, claps twice, and bows deeply once again.

Tessen no Gi Removal of dedicated foods 撤饌の儀

During the Tessen no Gi, the foods that we dedicated to the Kami are taken down.

Shojin no Gi Kami sent back 昇神の儀

In the Shojin no Gi, the Kami is sent back to the shrine they live in. The priest will give a shout of ‘Ooo’, and the attendants are to bow their heads deeply.

Naorai Feast 直会

Lastly, there is the Naorai feast, where attendants enjoy the food and sake dedicated to the Kami.

These are just my notes in preparation for translating a Jotoshiki that will be held online from Dewa Sanzan Shrine, and broadcast to JINEN in Venice, Italy. These notes were taken from a variety of places, so they might not necessarily be how the Jotoshiki is held, and their might be some factual discrepancies, so best to use this with a grain of salt.