Shugendo and the Yamabushi, the Mountain Ascetics Behind Kuji-In

“An intricate hand seal can catch the eye in a moment; understanding the world behind it takes a longer journey. In Shugendo and the Yamabushi, Lido Migo leads readers into the mountains, legends, and religious communities that give kuji-in its depth. The result is an accessible introduction to a tradition in which landscape, bodily discipline, and sacred imagination continually meet.

The book brings together the remembered life of En no Gyoja, the symbolism of mountain pilgrimage, and the ritual world of the yamabushi. Its distinction between historical evidence, religious tradition, and contemporary interpretation allows the stories to retain their fascination while giving readers a clear sense of how to approach them.

Photographs of the hand seals and useful reference appendices complement the narrative. For readers drawn to kuji-in, Japanese spirituality, or the relationship between practice and place, this volume offers both an inviting point of entry and a thoughtful companion for further study.”

MUKNARU, Publisher’s Review

Lido Migo was born in South Korea and has been teaching Oriental Medicine and therapy since 2007 in various countries and schools, leading more than twenty international seminars and workshops. At the center of his work is the study of meditation and the evolution of consciousness—how contemplative practice reshapes attention, perception, and the felt structure of the mind, and how the states it opens mark successive stages in the growth of human awareness. Around this core, he also researches traditional therapy and psychotherapy, Asian traditional medicine, and qigong healing, seeking the common ground where these disciplines meet the transformation of consciousness. Lido Migo is a pen name.

• Ph.D. in Korean Medicine, Wonkwang University, South Korea
• BMed in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China
• BSc in Astronomy, Seoul National University, South Korea
• MSc in Natural Health, South Korea

Books:

• The Way of Kuji, Opening Consciousness: History, Myth, and Practice of Kuji-In, the Japanese Hand Seals
• The Way of Kuji, Shaping Space through Kuji-Kiri: The Japanese Grid-Cutting Ritual

For meditation sessions, contact the author directly.

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