Yamabushi

Yamabushi (山伏, “one who lies down in the mountains”) are the ascetics of Shugendō. They train by walking and fasting in sacred mountains, chant formulas, blow a conch shell and often wear a small black cap on the forehead.

They played a large part in the birth of the pilgrimage. Around 1280, a document from Daigo-ji in Kyōto lists the “circuit of Shikoku” (四國邊路) among a yamabushi’s practices, alongside the Ōmine and Katsuragi mountains, the Nachi waterfall and the 33 Kannon temples. In the 16th century, yamabushi still signed their names on the walls of temples 80 and 49.

Along the pilgrimage you will find places of ascetic practice linked to this tradition, such as Mount Ishizuchi (near temples 60 and 64) or the caves and cliffs of Iwaya-ji (temple 45).