Yamabushi (“one who bows in the mountains”) are ordained adherents of the 1400-year-old spiritual path called Shugendō. It’s a nature-based syncretic spiritual path that combines Buddhist studies and practice with Taoism, Shinto, mysticism and ascetic disciplines. This float enshrines the 9th-century yamabushi Jōzō Kisho, who was renowned for the superhuman powers he developed through the dedication of his practice. He’s most famous for righting the leaning Yasaka pagoda; it still towers straight and tall today, south of the Yasaka shrine in the Gion district. Yamabushi Yama is located in a traditional Kyoto machiya or townhouse, and the sacred statue of Jōzō Kisho has pride of place on the second floor. This yama has an outstanding collection of antique embroidered textiles, some of which they received from the neighboring Kikusui Boko’s chōnai when their float was destroyed in the great 1864 fire. You’ll enjoy them from very close up due to the economy of space in traditional downtown Kyoto architecture.
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