Mount Kurama
Encyclopedia
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. It is the birthplace of the Reiki
Reiki
is a spiritual practice developed in 1922 by Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui. The teaching was continued and adapted by various teachers. It uses a technique commonly called palm healing as a form of complementary and alternative medicine and is sometimes classified as oriental medicine by some...
practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō
Sojobo
is the mythical king of the tengu, minor deities who inhabit the mountains of forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is an ancient yamabushi tengu with long, white hair and an unnaturally long nose. He carries a fan made from seven feathers as a sign of his position at the top of tengu society...
, King of the Tengu
Tengu
are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami...
, who taught swordsmanship to Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...
. Kurama is also the location of the annual , which takes place every October.
is now designated as a national treasure of Japan.
The philosopher Hayashi Razan
Hayashi Razan
, also known as Hayashi Dōshun, was a Japanese Neo-Confucian philosopher, serving as a tutor and an advisor to the first four shoguns of the Tokugawa bakufu. He is also attributed with first listing the Three Views of Japan. Razan was the founder of the Hayashi clan of Confucian scholars.Razan was...
lists one of the three greatest of the daitengu
Tengu
are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami...
as Sōjōbō
Sojobo
is the mythical king of the tengu, minor deities who inhabit the mountains of forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is an ancient yamabushi tengu with long, white hair and an unnaturally long nose. He carries a fan made from seven feathers as a sign of his position at the top of tengu society...
of Mount Kurama. The demons of Kurama and Atago are among the most famous tengu.
Further Reading
- http://www.healing-touch.co.uk/kurama2.htm -> The myth and history of Mao's temple on Mt Kurama, which is the backbone of a Shingon Buddhist splinter group.