How Did Japanese Monks Mummify Themselves? | Legendary Locations

In the mountains of Japan, a sect of monks practices a form of religion that's downright deadly.

When most people think of Japan, it's typically sushi, sake, and samurai, and of course, the neon Mecca that is Tokyo.

But far from the bright lights of the capital is a mountain that's home to an isolated sect of mystical monks.

For over 1,000 years, these hilltop hermits have been on a quest to find true enlightenment. And to achieve this lofty goal, they'll push themselves to the very brink of death.

Near the western coast of Japan, Mount Yudono rises up to the clouds.

Long a spiritual haven for both locals and pilgrims, this mountain is revered for its legendary powers of rebirth.

Because there's something both special and deadly in Mount Yudono's clear mountain springs. Something that might just hold the key to immortality.

And it's here that we find the Dainichibo Temple,

the birthplace of what might be the most dangerous religious practice in the world.

I've arranged for an exclusive look inside the temple so I can share with you one of the most fascinating and and gruesome stories I've encountered in all my travels.

About 1400 years ago, Deep in the heart of this pine forest,

a group of monks combined ideas from Buddhism, shamanism, and local folk religions to create a new belief system called Shugendo.

The Shugendo monks viewed this mountain as the ideal place to achieve enlightenment through suffering.

By meditating and reading the sutras, and by making a journey up the mountain, you can clean your soul.

You hear the singing of the birds, feel the nature around you and the beauty of the trees. Okay, so far, seems like pretty standard spiritual stuff.

But as the monks prepare for enlightenment, long, rigorous uphill hikes are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, or in this case, the ice cold mountain.

I will walk under the frigid mountain waterfall to build the physical spirit. This will help bring me as close as possible to our holy teacher Kobo.

The holy teacher Kobo, like many religious leaders and all superheroes, has his very own epic origin story.

It's the beginning of the 9th century century. The revered monk Kobo Daishi travels to this remote mountain region and is struck by its sacred power.

Kobo felt this place had a very unique energy and decided to build his holy temple here. He made a vow to help save humanity.

And to fulfill that promise, he developed a new belief system he hoped would help people have their prayers heard.

Kobo starts an extreme offshoot of the Shugendo religion, one that involves some serious self deprivation.

Kobo Daishi subsists on almost no food,

believing that unburdening his body of fat, muscle and moisture will bring him to the edge of death and elevate him to true spiritual enlightenment,

allowing him to live and meditate forever. What starvation actually does, however, is start to preserve his body while he's still alive.

And then it eventually kills him. His mummified corpse becomes revered as a so called living Buddha.

Between 1081 and 1903, it's believed that hundreds of Japanese monks try to duplicate Kobo's self mummification.

But fewer than 30 successfully complete the process.

One of those who did can be found right here at the Dainichibo Temple.

Meet shin yokai, shonin.

Typically, when a person dies, their body completely decomposes within five years. But here he sits, still looking good ish.

Over 300 years later,

it's 1783. Shin Yukai is 96 when he begins the arduous and painful process of self mummification.

A devout monk for most of his life, he sees his village suffer through famine and believes he knows what he must do.

Become a living Buddha in hopes that his sacrifice will save his village.

This next part is not for the faint of heart. And kids definitely do not try this at home.

For the first thousand days, Shin Yokai eats only nuts and seeds, all while hiking up and down a mountain several times a day.

By the end, with no cheat days allowed, Shin Yukai's looking at about 0% body fat. For the next thousand days, he eats only tree bark and roots.

Then he progresses to the final step

from which there will be no turning back. Shin Yokai begins drinking tea made from the SAP of the urushi tree.

Yeah, I'm gonna hop in here for a sec. To point out that Urushi tree SAP is what they use to lacquer pottery in Japan.

It's highly toxic, so drinking the Urushi tea causes the monk to vomit. And as if that weren't enough, the mountain spring water he uses to brew it contains traces of arsenic.

The toxic tea not only dries out his organs, but it also kills off anything like maggots that might decompose a body.

After

determined to become a living Buddha, the emaciated Shin Yokai climbs inside a stone tomb equipped with a bamboo air tube.

He sits in the lotus position and applies an extra dose of arsenic to his gums to help speed up his earthly demise.

Each day, he rings a bell to announce he's still alive. And when the bell finally stops ringing, a tube is removed

the tomb is then sealed and buried.

After 1,000 days, the tomb is reopened and they find his body intact. Mummification was successful.

The body is cleaned and dressed so Shin Yokai can take his place as a revered living Buddha.

To this day, he sits on display at the Dainichibo Temple, cared for by his fellow monks,

who change his clothes every few years so that the Buddha will always look his spiffiest.

A living Buddha has chosen this path to gain enlightenment, to ease world suffering, or as a sacrifice for something bigger than themselves.

In our eyes, this is a path to immortality.

Although this deadly practice was outlawed in the 1800s, it secretly continued well into the 20th century.

Today, the monks at Mount Yudono continue to push themselves to the limit, but they know when to draw the line.

I'm always amazed at the suffering some faithful will endure when appealing to their gods.