Over 300 maple trees snake their way up Yakisugi-yama, creating a path of red come autumn.
Throughout its history Amida-ji had strong links to the court (especially the imperial Arisugawanomiya 有栖川宮 & Kan’innomiya 閑院宮 families), & proudly displays the gifts it received.
Incidentally, Emperor Meiji outlawed the practice of Sokushinbutsu (mummification) in 1879.
Tanzei became a mummy at the age of 62, and his stone coffin was placed inside a cave carved in the mountainside by his disciples (the current tomb dates to Meiji times).
Beside his coffin a treasure chamber contains possessions of imperial family members who trained at the temple.
Monks would subsist on pine needles, resins and seeds, slowly eliminating all body fat.
Liquid intake would be slowly stopped, dehydrating the body and organs.
They would die whilst sitting in a pose of meditation, their bodies now naturally preserved.
#mummifiedmonks #mummification #Japan #Kyoto #Ohara #Amidaji
In 1613 Amida-ji's (阿弥陀寺) founder, Tanzei (弾誓), finally became a 'living Buddha', achieving mummification whilst still alive (meditating within a stone coffin).
Tanzei is the southernmost mummified monk in Japan (a practice much more common in the north).
