PREVIOUSNEXT
山伏
キウイ
It’s all the same mountain
With my Mt. Fujikura video I realised that I’ve been trying to show only good parts about the mountains I go to, and forgo the bad parts. By that I mean if you’ve read about all the drama that went on when we climbed Mt. Kumanonagamine, and were wondering where the video was, I actually stopped filming because I thought we had gone completely the wrong way.
And I was right, we were on an old and rundown trail, but I didn’t want to show the mountain as a ‘bad’ place, so I stopped filming.
To be honest, Mt. Fujikura wasn’t that interesting of a mountain overall when you compare it to other nearby peaks like Mt. Atsumi and Mt. Arakura. But my first draft of the video would seem to show otherwise.
I realized, a bit too late however, that not everything is going to go smoothly, but that that is what makes things interesting. Sure it would be cool to have a perfect day of hiking in a video, but a bit of drama would make it a lot more engaging, and there has been a bit of drama that I haven’t gotten on film.
Looking back, this seems dishonest, and I’m going to try and do a better job of capturing both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides of my hikes from now on. If you think about it, it’s all relative. ‘Good’ or ‘bad’, it’s all the same mountain.
(Given the chance though, I think I would climb Mt. Fujikura again, next time from the Futakuchi trail).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi, I’m Tim Bunting AKA the Kiwi Yamabushi, a New Zealander who became a Yamabushi Ascetic in the Dewa Sanzan mountains of north Japan. I’m part of the Yamabushido team, and we host life-altering Yamabushi training on the Dewa Sanzan (website link). People come to us for the ultimate mindfulness experience, to reach the next level, or simply connect with nature and themselves.
I’m on a mission to summit all 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata Prefecture to spread the splendour of this fabulous location, and in dedication to all those who lost their lives out in nature, including my father.
On my daily blog I post thoughts of a practicing Yamabushi that I hope people can use to better themselves and live as fulfilling a life as possible.
Sign up to the weekly Mountains of Wisdom newsletter, follow me on social (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Clubhouse, all @kiwiyamabushi), or send me an email via the link below to stay in touch.
Tim.
MOUNTAINS OF WISDOM
Subscribe to my weekly yamabushi newsletter
RECENT BLOG POSTS
YAMABUSHI BLOG POSTS
RANDOM POSTS