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( b. 634, in Katsuragi (modern
Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...
); d. c. 700–707) was a Japanese
ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
and mystic, traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, the path of ascetic training practiced by the ''gyōja'' or ''
yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or ...
''. He was banished by the Imperial Court to
Izu Ōshima is an inhabited volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea, off the coast of Honshu, Japan, east of the Izu Peninsula and southwest of Bōsō Peninsula. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Izu Ōshima form ...
on June 26, 699, but folk tales at least as old as the '' Nihon Ryōiki'' (c. 800) recount his supernatural powers and exploits. He is also referred to by the name , , or also under the full name En no Kimi Ozunu, where is his kabane or titular name.


Historical references

Even historical accounts of his life are intermixed with legends and folklore. According to the chronicle ''
Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by '' Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Ma ...
'' ( 797 AD), En no Ozunu was banished to the island of
Izu Ōshima is an inhabited volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea, off the coast of Honshu, Japan, east of the Izu Peninsula and southwest of Bōsō Peninsula. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Izu Ōshima form ...
on June 26, 699:
On ''hinoto-ushi'' ( sexagenary "fire ox") day Mommu 3 (June 26, 699 AD)">Mommu_(period).html" ;"title="4th day of the 5th month, Mommu 3 (June 26, 699 AD) En no Kimi Ozunu was banished to Izu Ōshima">Izu no Shima. Ozunu had first lived in Mount Katsuragi (disambiguation)">Mount Katsuragi and been acclaimed for his sorcery and was the teacher of Outer Junior 5th Rank Lower Grade . Later, [a person (or Hirotari?)] envied his power and accused him of trickery with his weird magic. [The Imperial Court] banished him far [from the Capital]. Rumor says, "Ozunu was able to manipulate demonic spirits, making them draw water and gather firewood. When they disobeyed, he bound them using sorcery."
In spite of this incident, it seems that the Court continued to highly evaluate the herbal knowledge of Ozunu's school, since Vol. 11 of the book also tells that on October 5, Tenpyō 4 (October 28, 732 AD), his student Karakuni no Hirotari was elected as the , the highest position in .


In the religion Shugendō

In folk religion, En no Ozunu is traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, a syncretic religion incorporating aspects of
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
,
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...
,
esoteric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
(especially '' Shingon Mikkyō'' and the
Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese ...
sect) and traditional Japanese
shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
. En no Gyōja was conferred the posthumous title Jinben Daibosatsu (Great Bodhisattva Jinben, 神変大菩薩) at a ceremony held in 1799 to commemorate the one-thousandth year of his passing. Authorship of the non-canonical
Sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an a ...
on the Unlimited Life of the Threefold Body is attributed to En no Gyōja. Due to his
myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
ical status as a mountain saint, he was believed to possess many
supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
powers.


In popular culture

* In Kyoto's Gion Festival, one of the yamaboko floats
En no Gyoja Yama
is dedicated to En no Gyoja. It is an annual pilgrimage destination for
yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or ...
(practitioners of Shugendo), who perform various rituals on site. * In the historical fantasy novel ''
Teito Monogatari is an epic historical dark fantasy/science fiction work; the debut novel of natural history researcher and polymath Hiroshi Aramata. It began circulation in the literary magazine ''Monthly King Novel'' owned by Kadokawa Shoten in 1983, and ...
'' by Hiroshi Aramata the protagonist Yasunori Kato claims to be a descendant of En no Gyōja. *In the
manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...
''OZN'' by
Shiro Ohno Shiro, Shirō, Shirow or Shirou may refer to: People * Amakusa Shirō (1621–1638), leader of the Shimabara Rebellion * Ken Shiro (born 1992), Japanese boxer * Shiro Azumi, Japanese football player 1923–1925 * Shiro Ichinoseki (born 1944), ...
the protagonist is a superheroic version of En no Ozunu. *In the SNES game Shin Megami Tensei, an NPC named En-no-ozuno resides in Kongokai. *In the PS1 game Oni Zero: Fukkatsu, the main antagonist is En no Gyōja. *In Koji Suzuki's novel '' Ring,'' Sadako's mother drags a statuette of En no Ozunu from the sea. *In the movie "Ninja Assassin," the antagonist is 'Master Ozunu;' who heads the, "9 Clan". *In the anime Zenki, a posthumous character named Enno Ozunu was the master of Zenki, who would centuries later be summoned again by his descendant, Chiaki Enno. *The manga
Touge Oni A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...
tells the tale of En no Ozuno and his two disciples, Zenki and Miyo (later Goki), traveling the land of Wa meeting various Kami.


Explanatory notes


References

;Citations ;Bibliography *
v.1v. 2


External links


En no Ozunu
- History of Japan Database {{DEFAULTSORT:En No Gyoja Founders of religions Japanese religious leaders Japanese writers Apothecaries Shugendō practitioners Japanese exorcists