Holding a pilgrim’s staff, En no Gyoja stands before us. Who was this figure? En no Gyoja was a mountain ascetic. He lived in the 7th century. People regard him as the founder of Shugendo. Shugendo is a path of mountain asceticism. People believed it helped one gain magical powers.
En no Gyoja was born as Kamo no Kozumi. He was born in Yamato province at the foot of Mt Katsuragi. He retreated to the mountains. He pursued asceticism for thirty years. He mastered magical abilities. He then flew to the palace of immortals. He rode atop five-colored clouds. Two demonic spirits accompanied him.
Later, he visited Mt Kinpusen. It was in Yoshino. After seven days of meditation, he had a vision. He saw the bodhisattva Jizo. Jizo held a jewel of enlightenment. Gyōja flew to Mt Daisen. It was in the west. He prayed for seven days. He wanted the deity Zao Gongen to appear. Zao Gongen grants shugenja their powers. Eventually, the blue-faced deity appeared. He wielded a six-ringed pilgrim’s staff.
En no Gyoja journeyed to the Mino’o Waterfall in Osaka. There he met the bodhisattva Ryūju. He erected a temple to Ryūju. It was called Mino’o Temple. He tried to get a local Shinto deity to help him. The deity was Hitokotonushi. He wanted him to build a bridge. It would extend from Mt Katsuragi to Mt Yoshino. However, he got angry. The god was working too slowly. He threw him into a valley. The angry god petitioned the emperor. He wanted armies to arrest En no Gyoja. He claimed the monk sought to rebel.
Gyōja escaped easily. He flew away on his clouds. But they captured his mother. He surrendered himself. He was exiled to Izu Ōshima. He escaped his exile. He flew to Mt Fuji. Hitokotonushi noticed his escape. He reported it to the emperor. The emperor sent his armies again. This time they wanted to kill the monk. They could not do so. He had great magical powers. Great storms plagued the capital. A booming voice announced something. En no Gyoja had done nothing wrong. He was not to be persecuted.
En no Gyoja received a pardon. He returned to living in Yamato. Eventually he retired to China. He flew there on a grass mat. His mother went with him. Many shugenja traveled to China later. They wanted to learn to practice magic. People said they studied under him.
En no Gyoja is an important religious figure. He founded Shugendo. It is based around nature. It is also based around mountain worship. It combines spiritual traditions. These traditions come from Buddhism and Shintoism. It also includes shamanism. En no Gyoja established the base for the religion on Nara’s Mt Omine. This was over 1300 years ago. He witnessed a new deity there. The deity’s name was Zao-gongen. He also helped create the deity. He created the Omine-Okugake Pilgrimage Route. It is nearly 100 km long. It runs from the Yoshino River in Nara. It goes down to the Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine in Wakayama. The route is now a UNESCO World Heritage area.
Upon seeing this new deity, En no Gyoja carved an image. He carved it from yamazakura wood. Yamazakura is mountain cherry tree wood. The tree became a sacred part of the faith. He also established Kinpusen-ji Temple. It is in the Yoshinoyama area. It became the most famous location for cherry tree blossoms. Shugendo devotees cultivated vast groves of the plant along the mountainsides. This lasted for centuries. Because of this tradition, En no Gyoja greatly contributed to the veneration of the cherry blossom. This exists in Japanese society as a whole.
Over time, the Shugendo faith spread. Practitioners became famed. They were known as yamabushi. They were known for their ascetic training. They trained in mountainous areas. They gained spiritual power. They used it to help communities. They also used it to help individuals.
Remember En no Gyoja. He was an ascetic. He was a founder. He was a legend. He was a figure of immense importance.