





The mummified monks of the Yamagata province had belonged to the Shingon school of Buddhism, which combined esoteric Buddhism with native Shinto beliefs. These Shingon monks practiced extreme asceticism, believing that physical deprivation allowed them to see beyond the illusion of the physical world. They would meditate under icy waterfalls or walk across hot coals to practice ignoring their physical selves.

These monks also believed deeply in self-sacrifice in service to others. This manifested in a lot of the usual community service: feeding the poor, caring for the elderly, treating the sick. But they also believed that their sacrifices could serve the community through spiritual means. For example, in the late 18th century the Shingon monk Tetsumonkai travelled through what is now Tokyo during the outbreak of an eye disease that caused blindness. When his herbal remedies had no effect on the epidemic, Tetsumonkai cut out his left eye and threw it in the Sumida River while praying for the end of the epidemic, believing that his sacrifice commanded a higher level of respect and attention from the gods.

The monks who mummified themselves (including Tetsumonkai) considered their death an act of redemption and salvation for humankind. Their suffering prior to death allowed them to go to the Tusita Heaven, one of several Buddhist heavens whose residents enjoy extremely long life spans before they reenter the cycle of reincarnation. The monks believed their sacrifice would allow them to live in the Tusita Heaven for 1.6 million years, with the power to grant requests and protect the humans on Earth. But they also believed that this spiritual power only lasted as long as their physical bodies remained to tie them to the Earth, so it was vital that their bodies be preserved through mummification.



The first known attempt of sokushinbutsu was in 1081 by a monk named Shōjin, but it was unsuccessful and his body decayed. Over one hundred monks may have made the attempt since then, but only around two dozen in Yamagata and surrounding prefectures have succeeded. The procedure for self-mummification evolved through trial-and-error, and even monks who followed the same tortuous steps as successful sokushinbutsu monks could fail for no discernible reason, losing their chance at immortality Tusita Heaven after years of painful asceticism.

Monks in Yamagata had a particularly high success rate compared to monks in other regions, especially the monks who drank water from the sacred spring on Yudono Mountain during the years leading up to their death. Researchers from the Investigating Committee for Mummies in Japan analyzed the water from the Yudono spring and found near-fatal levels of arsenic. Aside from acting as a poison, arsenic also remains in the body after death, performing the same task as urushi tea and discouraging insects from taking up residence.

In 1877, Emperor Meiji outlawed self-mummification in Japan. The law prohibited anyone from opening the tomb of a monk who had attempted sokushinbutsu, unless the monk had entered the tomb before the law was enacted. The one-eyed monk Tetsuryūkai had been preparing for sokushinbutsu for years when the law was enacted, so he decided to complete his journey anyway and was sealed in the tomb in 1878. At the appointed time after his death, his followers snuck out to his tomb in the middle of the night and disinterred him in secret. They were overjoyed to discover that he had achieved sokushinbutsu, but then they realized they faced a great dilemma. They couldn’t put his body on display in the temple without admitting that they had broken the law by opening his tomb. Ultimately, they decided to alter the temple records to list Tetsuryūkai’s date of death as 1862—prior to the ban—and enshrined him at Nangaku Temple, where he remains to this day.

Part of the Yamadera mountain temple complex, where Sokushinbutsu was practiced.

Tetsuryūkai is the last known successful sokushinbutsu mummy. Other monks who had begun fasting in preparation for sokushinbutsu when the ban was passed abandoned their attempts. They eventually died of natural causes and were cremated, but they are honored with statues in several temples throughout Japan. The remains of some of the monks who achieved sokushinbutsu have been lost in fires or other disasters, but sixteen can still be seen in temples in Japan today. Each sits in the lotus position in which he died, dressed in traditional robes. Their faces are eyeless, grinning skeletons with darkened, leathery skin stretched across their skulls. Their bony hands clutch prayer beads or rest gently in their laps. Worshippers visit with prayers and petitions in the hopes that the sokushinbutsu monks will intervene with a miracle to grant their requests.
