Living Buddhas: The Self-Mummified Monks of Yamagata, Japan

243 Pages·2010·4.32 MB·English

by  Ken Jeremiah

LIVING BUDDHAS
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LIVING BUDDHAS
The Self-Mummified Monks
of Yamagata, Japan
Ken Jeremiah
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Jeremiah, Ken.
Living Buddhas : the self-mummified monks of Yamagata,
Japan / Ken Jeremiah.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4880-7
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
1. Mummies—Japan—Yamagata-ken. 2. Shugen (Sect)—
Customs and practices. I. Title.
BQ5680.M85J47 2010
294.3'43880952116—dc22 2010015379
British Library cataloguing data are available
©2010 Ken Jeremiah. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
On the cover: The preserved body of Enmyÿkai Shÿnin, located
at Kaikÿ Temple, in Sakata (Yamagata, Japan); lotus borders
©20¡0 Shutterstock
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
Table of Contents
Preface  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 1
Introduction: Sacred Mountains and the Swamp of Immortals  .  .  .  .  . 9
PART ONE. MUMMIFICATION AND IMMORTALITY
1. Natural Mummification  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 19
2. Artificial Mummification  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 26
3. Incorruptibility  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 33
4. The Great Transformation  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 40
PART TWO. SELF-MUMMIFIED MONKS
5. Symbols of Contradiction  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 47
6. HonmyÉkai ShÉnin: The Samurai Who Mummified
Himself  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 60
7. ShinnyÉkai ShÉnin: The Farmer Who Killed a Samurai  .  .  .  . 65
8. Tetsumonkai ShÉnin: The Priest Who Loved a Prostitute  .  .  . 71
9. MyÉkai ShÉnin: The Boy Who Lost His Eyesight  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 78
10. KÉmyÉkai ShÉnin: The Unknown Self-Mummified Monk  .  .  . 84
11. Ch¨kai ShÉnin and EnmyÉkai ShÉnin: Two Monks
Who Reside at the Same Temple  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 88
12. Tetsury¨kai ShÉnin: The Monk Who Cut Out His
Own Eye  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 93
13. Remnants of a Forgotten Age  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 98
v
vi Table of Contents
PART THREE. RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
AND SECRET TEACHINGS
14. Buddhist Origins  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 107
15. Apocryphal Texts and Holy Wizards  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 113
16. Chinese Immortality and the Death of Buddhism
in India  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 119
17. KÉbÉ Daishi and Shingon Buddhism  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 127
18. Magicians in the Mountains: En no GyÉja and
ShugendÉ Faith  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 139
PART FOUR. ASCETICISM AND THE PURSUIT OF DEATH
19. Asceticism in World Religions  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 151
20. Japanese Ascetic Practices  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 157
21. Periods of Seclusion and Cave Meditation  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 163
22. Meditation Under Waterfalls and Cold Water Ablutions  .  .  . 169
23. Abstention from Cereals  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 175
24. Self-Immolation  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 180
25. Self-Mummification  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 186
PART FIVE. DEATH AND IMMORTALITY
26. The Nature of Life and Death  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 199
Afterword  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 207
Appendix 1. Self-Mummified Monks in Japan  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 211
Appendix 2. Ch¨renji Lineage  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 212
Appendix 3. Temple Contacts  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 213
Appendix 4. Thirty-Two Bodily Marks of a Great Man  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 215
Appendix 5. Sino-Japanese Character Glossary  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 216
Notes  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 219
References  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 225
Index  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 233
Preface
I had planned to travel to Wakkanai, the most northern town in Japan,
and then to Siberia by boat. I spent several days in Nagano, wandering around
mountains and valleys and bathing in waterfalls. I traveled through Yamagata
Prefecture, relaxing in hot springs and visiting temples built on mountain-
sides. Stopping in Aomori to see Mount Fear (Osorezan), I continued on to
Japan’s northernmost island: HokkaidÉ.
On a train from Sapporo to Asahikawa, I began speaking with a man
seated next to me who used to live in Yamagata. He asked me what I was
doing in Japan. I explained that I came to Japan every summer, leading tour
groups through Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima, but that I had never spent
much time in northern Japan. That summer, after my work in Tokyo had
ended, I had headed north to explore TÉhoku. He asked if I had seen the
mummies in Tsuruoka, a town in Yamagata Prefecture. I didn’t know what
he was talking about, so I asked several questions. He explained that there
were a number of priests in Yamagata who had mummified themselves, and
that their bodies were now on display in temples. He told me that they are
considered saints, and that they are called sokushinbutsu (those that have
attained Buddhahood in the flesh).
Having never heard about such a phenomenon, I decided to return to
Yamagata as soon as possible, abandoning my plans to travel to Siberia. I
spent one evening in Asahikawa, and then headed south, returning to Yam-
agata. I eventually made my way to Tsuruoka. From there, I took a bus to
yami and walked to a temple called DainichibÉ, where the body of a self-
mummified monk rests. A priest explained the techniques of self-mummifica-
tion and told me about the man who was enshrined there: Daijuku Bosatsu
ShinnyÉkai ShÉnin.
However, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know how many self-
mummified monks there were in Japan, who they were, and why they opted
to commit such an unthinkable act. I researched the phenomenon for a year
1
2 Preface
Exterior of HonmyÉ Temple (Yamagata, Japan).
and then returned to Japan, visiting another seven self-mummified individ-
uals, learning about their lives and the methods of their mummification.
Although long dead, these individuals are known as Living Buddhas. In a
sense, they are treated as though still alive and are revered by believers as
especially holy men; they are worshipped as actual living and breathing Bud-
dhas. One year, when I was in Japan visiting various mummies, I walked
from Ch¨ren Temple over a small mountain and down into the village where
the body of HonmyÉkai rests. It was a long walk, and it took me several hours
to reach the temple. It was a private temple, and I knocked on the door of
the head priest’s home. A woman came out to greet me. I explained to her
that I had come from Ch¨ren Temple and I wanted to pay my respects to
Saint HonmyÉkai.
She nodded her agreement and came outside, leading me up a small path
through the trees to HonmyÉ Temple. En route, she asked if I had seen Saint
Tetsumonkai at Ch¨ren Temple. I nodded and then explained that I was on
a pilgrimage to visit all of the self-mummified monks in the area, and I
thanked her for allowing me to visit with her ancestor, who buried himself
Path leading to the main temple near HonmÉji.
alive in 1683. She unlocked the temple, lighting candles and providing incense
so that I could make an offering, and then she left me alone in the temple.
I knelt on the tatami mats inside and looked around. The temple had
been built over three hundred years ago and there were scrolls, statues, and
paintings that reflected its history. I thought about the question she had asked
me on the way to the temple: Had I had seen Saint Tetsumonkai? In Japa-
nese, she asked, “Tetsumonkai ShÉnin to atta n desu ka?”