Shodo Koshikidake Shugendo Journey
An incredible opportunity with Shodo Koshikidake at Mount Koshikidake, Japan.
It was truly inspiring to hear Shodo share his heartfelt story, his journey through the practice of Shugendo and his dedication to reviving his family’s temple and preserving the Shugen tradition for future generations.
With permission, here is a small part of the journey that Shodo Koshikidake offered to be shared.
Shodo Koshikidake journey:
My story is not one of sudden enlightenment or a dramatic calling. It begins, rather, in quiet obligation. I was born into a family that has practiced Shugendo for 72 generations. From a very young age, my path was set before me, not by choice, but by lineage.
When I was in the fourth grade, I was sent to live at our family temple in Murayama, Yamagata, away from my parents. It was decided I would one day become the successor. As a child, I did not grasp the spiritual weight of that role. I only felt its loneliness. In my teenage years, I drifted away from temple life. Frankly, I found no appeal in religion or tradition. I became a company worker, lived a secular life and later spent over 25 years as a broadcast journalist.
For a long time, I resisted what had been entrusted to me. But somehow, quietly and steadily, I was drawn back, not out of duty, but out of something deeper. It wasn’t dramatic. I felt as if I were being returned by unseen hands to the very path I had once abandoned. Eventually, I stood once again on Mount Koshiki, the sacred mountain that bears our family name. It was overgrown, silent.
The waterfall site used by our ancestors for training had collapsed. The temple grounds were still, as if waiting. I picked up a shovel and began to restore what had been forgotten, carving out mountain paths, rebuilding the waterfall site and reconstructing our family’s Shugendo tradition, one ritual at a time.
What is Shugendo?
It is difficult to define using modern concepts. Shugendo is often seen as a practical religious path for laypeople, which is true. But it is more than a religion. It is a spiritual philosophy embedded in the roots of Japanese culture itself. In Shugendo, the sacred is found not in isolation, but in the living world, in fire, stone, water and breath. It is a path that refines the soul through everyday life: family, work, illness, even death. The goal is not to escape, but transformation.
Historically, Shugendo was banned during the Meiji Restoration and later absorbed into esoteric Buddhism. As a result, many of its original teachings were diluted or forgotten. Today, few can articulate its essence clearly. Some see it as folklore or a mountain cult, but they miss its depth. Fortunately, my family preserved a living oral transmission.
Over the years, I’ve systematized those teachings and combined them with what I’ve learned through my own practice. I now teach these teachings both in Japan and internationally, not as religious dogma, but as a living way of life. My lectures are not found online and they are never the same. Each session is shaped by the people who gather. The content is prepared over months, drawn from decades of practice and spiritual experience.
Along the way, I’ve had mysterious experiences, ones I have never spoken of lightly.
Since childhood, I have encountered moments that cannot be explained. One such memory stays with me vividly. As a boy, I once climbed Mount Koshiki and found myself in an unfamiliar space near the summit. The atmosphere shifted. There, surrounded by mist, stood a white wooden shrine. It was quiet and radiant. When I returned home and mentioned it, my grandmother simply said, “Next time, take a candle. Offer it there.” I did as she said. On my next climb, I brought a candle, found the same space again, and made the offering. Years later, I came to understand that no such shrine exists. Others have looked. Even I could not find it again. But it was real to me, as real as the air on that mountain. I now believe it was a meeting arranged by something far beyond my understanding.
There have been other experiences. When studying ancient manuscripts passed down in our family, written in Siddham (Sanskrit seed syllables) and classical Chinese, I often felt overwhelmed. But in my dreams, I was sometimes visited by an unknown presence who gently instructed me in how to read them. Upon waking, what had once confused me suddenly became clear. These were not dreams in the ordinary sense. They felt like transmissions. I do not share these stories to impress or convince. I share them because they are part of my lived reality.
Shugendo is not just about mountains or rituals.
It is about learning to hear what cannot be heard, to see what cannot be seen and to trust that the invisible world, when approached with sincerity, will respond.
This year has brought many powerful milestones. We conducted both Valley Training and Mountain Training, where participants from around the world immersed themselves in the natural elements, fasting, praying and walking silently through ancient terrain. These trainings are not retreats. They are encounters with the raw essence of the self.
We also opened our new Goma Hall, a sacred space for fire ritual practice and the heart of the Koryu Shugendo International educational mission. Performing the Goma fire ceremony in that newly consecrated space was one of the most profound moments of my life. In that fire, I felt the presence of all those who came before me and all those yet to come. We initiated new students as well, each of whom took the first step on this demanding but luminous path.
Shugendo is not for those seeking comfort.
It is for those who seek truth, through effort, sincerity and humility.
Some believe mountain practice is a way to refresh the body and mind. I believe the opposite. Real practice begins in everyday life. If you cannot live truthfully at home or at work, the mountain cannot teach you. Shugendo is not an escape, it is a return. The mountain merely reveals what is already inside you.
My time in this world is limited. I estimate I have ten years left to offer direct guidance. That is why I have begun to pass on all I have learned, rituals, prayers, cosmology and the silent wisdom that cannot be written down, to the next generation.
Through the Koryu Shugendo International, I hope to preserve and transmit this living fire across borders and cultures.
Shugendo teaches us to live fully, suffer honestly and die without regret. It is a path that accepts imperfection, embraces effort and honors the invisible threads that bind us to nature, ancestors and the divine. To those who feel its call, I welcome you. Not as a master above, but as a fellow traveler walking the same path. The mountain will do the rest.
Thank you again, Diana, for offering me the chance to share my journey.
I really enjoyed speaking with Shodo, hearing his stories and the extra insights he shared deeply resonated with me. ❤️😁
I feel very blessed to have shared this space and I have much appreciation for his generosity. 🙏
Smiles all round! 😁
Shodo Koshikidake represents the authentic teachings and practices of his tradition. His aim is to preserve and transmit the direct spiritual lineage of Koryu Shugen Honshu, which has been handed down through his family for generations and practiced on Mount Koshikidake, a sacred mountain in Yamagata. For more about see, koshikidake
Shodo Koshikidake released his book in 2023. It is an introduction to Shugendo and follows his journey and efforts to revive his family’s temple and Shugen tradition.
The book is available in English, Shugendo: the ineffable wakefulness of nature
