Yamabushi

Shinto worshiped the mountains as a sacred place where the kami live and where the souls of the dead depart. To enter such a holy place, a person must be sufficiently “purified”. Therefore, mere mortals did not dare to approach these places. As a means to achieve the necessary purity, Buddhist and Taoist magic were revered. All this gave rise to a special kind of mountain hermits, called "Yamabushi." Combining Shinto beliefs with Buddhist and Taoist practices, they began to fulfill the role of divine postmen. If someone wanted to turn to the kami, he could transmit his prayer to the Yamabushi, and he climbed the mountains and read out the prayer to the kami. However, the authorities themselves sought to control this ideological sphere, therefore they did not recognize the status of Yamabushi and subjected them to persecution. At the end of the Nara period (VIII century), official monks began to go into the mountains, dissatisfied with corruption among Buddhists and their excessive interference in state affairs. They began to be called holy sages (hijiri). Among them were the founders of the first two Buddhist schools in Japan, tendai and singing . ^[one]

Such ascetics were known in Japan under various names: kenja ( 賢者 賢者 , "wise man"), shugenja ( yap. 修 験 者 , "mountain hermit"). They were famous for their magical skills, revered as healers and mediums ( Jap. 神 子 , Miko , "Magus"). As already noted, many of the Yamabushi were adherents of the Singon school - one of the branches of Vajrayana Buddhism , in accordance with the dogmas of which Awakening can be gained through hermitism, self-contemplation, study of nature and contemplation of the mandala . The Singon and Tendai schools equally regarded the mountains as an ideal place for seclusion and contemplation of nature.

However, in their mountain shelters, the Yamabushi monks were engaged not only in contemplation. They also studied a number of martial arts, which was originally caused by the need to protect against mountain robbers. Subsequently, Yamabushi used their skills by participating in daimyo battles. All this brought Yamabushi the glory of magnificent warriors.

Due to the increased reputation of Yamabushi as spiritual teachers and the good organization of their brotherhood, many spiritual leaders of Yamabushi began to receive high spiritual ranks in the palace hierarchy, which, in turn, strengthened their political influence.

During the Nambokuto period, Yamabushi began to organize in special units, controlled from the main monasteries of Buddhist schools, to which hermit warriors belonged. They helped Emperor Guo Daigo in his attempts to overthrow the reign of the Kamakura shogunate , while showing military training that could withstand the professional army of the samurai .

During the Sengoku period, Yamabushi were present among advisers to the courts and armies of almost all the sovereign Japanese rulers. Some of them joined Takeda Shingen to help Oda Nobunaga fight against Uesugi Kenshin in 1568 , while others, including Rector Sessai Tero, were advisers to the Tokugawa Ieyasu court. Many fought against Nobunaga, who, having smashed Yamabushi, put an end to the times of warrior monks.

Yamabushi, as was customary for the trained warriors of the time, had a great command of bow and swords , however, giving preference to naginata .

It is also believed that Yamabushi practiced ninjutsu , and generally had fairly close ties with the ninjas , who were even hired to perform special tasks.

• Shugen-no - Yamabushi dance performances.
• Samurai
• Ronin
• Sohei
• Ikko-ikki
• Sonin - Korean hermits, creators of the martial art of Chharyok .

• YAMABUSHI // Japan from A to Z. Popular Illustrated Encyclopedia. (CD-ROM). - M .: Directmedia Publishing , "Japan Today", 2008. - ISBN 978-5-94865-190-3 .