The ancient religion of Shugendō promises fresh perspectivesThis is a great idea for a religion.
In one swift action, faintly reminiscent of a mob boss demanding answers, Otsuka Chimyou picked me up by my thighs and dangled me off a sheer cliff. It occurred to me that, if his grip had failed, or if the hemp rope he had knotted around my torso slipped, the landscape far beneath me might be the last thing I would see. A forest of cypress and cedar, the treetops swaying in the breeze. A buzzard turning on the thermals. A bead of sweat that dropped from my brow into thin air.
“Do you promise to respect your family?” Otsuka screamed, lurching forward, pretending to drop me. “Yes”
“Do you promise to apply yourself to your career?” he continued, repeating the feint. “Yes” I shouted louder.
His tone remained threatening: “Are you a big boy?’
…
While a great deal is obscure about Shugendō, at its root is a simple premise: that participants (also known as yamabushi) derive power by spending time in the presence of holy mountains. There they will face hardships — tests of courage, perilous climbs or spells without sleep, food and water — which mean they grow in stature or even acquire magical powers.
This is genius. I wish I had come up with it.