Living Buddha
Sacred Mysteries of the Uetsu Holy Land Discovering Living Buddha Sokushinbutsu Living Buddha were Buddhist monks who sealed themselves beneath the earth as an offering to save the masses who were suffering from famine and the plague. The would-be Living Buddha secluded themselves in the mountains for 1000 to 5000 days, forgoing the staple cereals (rice, wheat, beans, and millet), and surviving on only mountain plants and seeds in order to strip their bodies of fat. When death drew near, they would climb into a stone room or underground hole and ring a bell while chanting the name of Amida Buddha. Three years and three months after the bell stopped ringing the body would be recovered, dried with the greatest care, and enshrined as a Living Buddha. ⑦ Mt. Kaiun: Saishō-ji Kōchi-hōin海雲山両生寺弘智法印The Sea of Japan Kira-kira Uetsu Tourism Area The Sea of Japan Kira-kira Uetsu Tourism Area covers the picturesque coastal region known as "Uetsu," which includes ten municipalities spanning the three prefectures of Akita, Yamagata, and Niigata. This area'  s expansive environment includes rivers, the sea, mountains, and villages, and its culture, rooted in the land, has been woven over the course of ages. ② Mt. Myōkō: Shinju-in Shūkai-shōnin妙廣山真珠院秀快上人The Sea of Japan Kira-kira Uetsu Tourism Area Promotion Association (Shonai Visitors Association) 19-1 Sodehigashi, Yokoyama, Mikawa-machi, HigashiTagawa-gun, Yamagata-ken, 997-1392 http://www.mokkedano.net/kirakira/english/index.html There are over a dozen Living Buddha in Japan, and seven of them are enshrined in six temples within the Sea of Japan Kira-kira Uetsu tourism area. Akita-ken ▲ Mt.Chokai士がChūkai-shōnin   忠海上人(2) Enmyōkai-shōnin円明海上人Tetsuryūkài-shōnin鉄竜海上▲ Mt.Haguro ▲ Mt.Gassan Mt.Yudono Shin’nyokai-shōnin真知海Tetsumonkai-shōnin an海上入Honmyōkai-shōnin *明海上大(6) Bukkai-shōnini  e海上人Mt. Ganryū: Zōkō-in Kōmyōkai-shōnin厳館山蔵高院无明海上人Zamagata-ken (1) Private Collection Myokai-shonin個人蔵明海上人Mt. Matsui: Kannon-ji Zenkai-shōnin松井山駿音寺全海上人ishima Nikaho Sakata The Uetsu Living Buddha Pilgrimage A spiritual journey to the sacred Living Buddha of Dewa and Stand before the holy seven, who gave their bodies in offering to save the people from their suffering evermore
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Honmyōkai-shōnin
Honmyŏkai-shŏnin was born in 1623 to Tokūemon Saitō: a vassal of the daimyō Tadakatsu Sakai, who at that time ruled the Shōnai domain. Honmyŏkai came to serve Sakai in turn, but the lord was stricken with a terrible illness; so, in his lord's place, Honmyŏkai traveled to Sen'ninzawa at Mt. Yudono and secluded himself to pray. He became spiritually attuned with the spiritual, and Sakai's illness was healed. This experience led Honmyŏkai to leave his post in 1661 at the age of 40. He entered the mountains for 4000 days, eating only seeds and mountain plants. In 1669, he underwent strict ascetic training at Higashi-iwamoto, and in 1673 erected the main hall and Sokushin Hall at Honmyŏ-ji. He sealed himself beneath the earth and became a Living Buddha in 1683, and Honmyō-ji became the new official temple of the Sakai daimyō family. Uchino-388 Higashiiwamoto, Tsuruoka-shi, Yamagata-ken 220235-53-2269 Free entry Please make a reservation before visiting More Living Buddha are enshrined in temples around the Sea of Japan Kira-kira Uetsu tourism area.
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kai-shōnin
Chūkai-shōnin was born in 1697 in Torī-machi—now part of Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture—to the Togashi samurai family. In 1746, He caused Mt. Shakõ's spiritual revival as head priest of Kaikō-ji. At age 50 he chose to follow the unforgiving path of the ascetic, including a restrictive diet of only seeds and grasses, in order to grant the wishes of the people and save them from suffering. He interred himself on February 21st, 1755 and became a Living Buddha.
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Enmyōkai-shōnin
Enmyŏkai-shŏnin was born to Rokubĕ Satŏ in Kaneai, Sakae-mura (present-day Shōnai-machi) in Yamagata's Higashi-tagawa district in 1767. He served as Kaikõ-ji's 9th head priest, and at 50 resolved to become a Living Buddha. He secluded himself at Sen' ninzawa on Mt. Yudono and followed an austere ascetic diet that involved consuming no grains or legumes. On August 5th, 1822, he sealed himself below ground and became a "living Buddha." Kaikō-ji is the only temple in Japan where two Living Buddha are enshrined. (except public holidays); Sakata-shi, Yamagata-ken ☎0234-22-4264 Jan. 1st through 3rd Entrance fee: Hours: 9:00–17:00 ¥400 for adults, (Apr. through Oct.) ¥200 for elementary/ 9:00–16:00 middle school students (Nov. through Mar.) (discounts available for groups of 20 or more) Shin’nyokai-shōnin was born the eldest son of a farming family in Yamagata Prefecture, in what was then Asahi-mura’s Echuyama area. He had an innate purity of character, and was devoted to Buddhism from an early age. He wished to spend his life making the world into a true land of Buddha, free of inequity. Shin'nyokai-shōnin worshipped the holy spirit of Mt. Yudono, and worked out of Ryūsui-ji Dainichibō temple on the mountain. Many honored him as a “living bodhisattva” during his lifetime as a paragon of virtue: he endeavored to spread Buddhist teachings to the four corners, built temples, demonstrated boundless compassion, and worked toward the welfare of all. For 70 long years, he endured a variety of harsh ascetic practices; finally, at 96 years of age, he enclosed himself underground and became a Living Buddha. Nyūdō-11 Ōami, Tsuruoka-shi, Yamagata-ken Entrance fee: ¥500 for adults ¥450 per person for groups (of 30+visitors) ¥400 for middle school students; ¥300 for elementary school students Hours: 8:00–17:00 (last entry at 16:30)
Shin'nyokai-shonin
Tetsumonkai-shŏnin, born in Yamagata Prefecture's Tsuruoka City in 1759, left home at 21 to undergo ascetic training at Sen'ninzawa on Mt. Yudono. He then built a new road in Kamozaka, where the people had suffered a series of hardships. While in Edo, where a plague of eye disease ran rampant, he offered his left eye to the dragon god of the Sumida River in prayer. For this deed, he came to be called "Saint Tetsumonkai of the Blessed Eye." His missionary work took place primarily in the Shōnai region, but also from the Kanto region up through Hokkaidō, and he gathered a great many followers. Stone statues in his likeness are found far and wide, paying homage to him as a "god of pilgrims." In 1829, after a lifetime of guiding people on the path to salvation, Tetsumonkai-shōnin became a Living Buddha at the age of 71.湯殿山注連寺Nakadai-92-1 Öami, Tsuruoka-shi, Yamagata-ken Entrance fee: 500 for adults, ¥400 for elementary/middle school students ¥300 for children Hours: 9:00–17:00 May through Oct. 10:00–16:00 Nov. through Apr.
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letsumonkai-shōnin
Tetsuryūkai-shōnin
Born in Akita Prefecture's Senboku-machi (now Daisen City) to the Shindō family in 1819, Tetsuryūkai-shōnin started out at Nangaku-ji—a branch temple of Mt. Yudono's Chūren-ji. He then underwent ascetic training at Chūren-ji; however, when Nangaku-ji was lost to a fire during the period of 1848 to 1854, he decided to return and rebuild it. He also took up and completed the difficult construction project in Kamozaka that his teacher, Tetsumonkai-shōnin, had begun. He committed to becoming a Living Buddha at the age of 55, and fulfilled his 1000-day fast and austere training in isolation at Mt. Yudono' s Sen'ninzawa. He entombed himself in 1881, at the age of 62. Nangaku-ji also has a hall enshrining Toshie Osanami, whose psychic powers were recognized by the high court while at the temple. Miraculously, when the temple burned in the Shōwa era, only the main altar and Living Buddha survived.修行山南岳寺Mt. Shugyō: Nangaku-ji 3-6 Sunadamachi, Tsuruoka-shi, Yamagata-ken    ☎ 0235-23-5054 Hours: 8:30–16:00 Closed on: Jan. 2nd, May 13th Entrance fee: ¥400 for adults ¥200 for children 15-28 Sakanamachi, Murakami-shi, Niigata-ken 20254-52-4707 Hours: 8:30–17:00 Free entry
Bukkai-shōnin
Bukkai-shōnin was born the eldest son of the Kondo family on May 9th, 1828, in the Ara-machi area of Niigata Prefecture’s Murakami City. He joined Chūren-ji on Mt. Yudono at the age of 18, and also trained at Honmyō-ji. Over the course of 15 years, he continued to practice asceticism at Sen' ninzawa, in addition to undergoing training at Mt. Amagi in Izu and Kaikō-ji in Sakata. At the age of 35, he began a strict plant-based diet eschewing the staple grains; in 1867, at 37, he became the head priest of Honmyō-ji. He returned to Murakami in 1874 to serve at Kannon-ji. In May 1888, he became head priest of Chūren-ji, which had burned to the ground, and restored the temple. Afterward, he again returned to his hometown. In 1903, at age 76, he interred himself and, after 41 years of harsh training, became Japan's last Living Buddha.
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海寒山酒生寺弘智法印【Map②】Mt. Kaiun: Saishō-ji　Kōchi-hōin 8996 Teradomarinozumi, Nagaoka-shi, Niigata-ken    0258-75-3441松井山朝斉吉全流上人1779 Toyomi-kou, Aga-machi, Higashikanbara-gun, Niigata-ken 【Map 8】Mt. Matsui: Kannon-ji  Zenkai-shōnin ☎0254-52-2228 (Chōraku-ji) *Viewing permitted only on July 8th妙篤山真珠院秀快上人【Map③】Mt.Myoko: Shinju-in Shūkai-shōnin 502 Nishinagatori-kou, Kashiwazaki-shi, Niigata-ken 100257-25-3301個人誌明海上人Yanazawa, Yonezawa, Yamagata-ken 【MapW】Private Collection      Myōkai-shōnin ☎ 090-7069-8688 544-1 Kurogamo, Shirataka-machi, Nishiokitama-gun,厳館山蔵高院光明海上人【Map①】Mt. Ganryū: Zōkō-in  Kōmyōkai-shōnin Yamagata-ken   ☎ 0238-85-1131