SokushinbutsuSokushinbutsu, the Living Buddha Enshrined in the Earth

Unlike other yokai that are purely imaginary aberrations, the *sokushinbutsu* is a rare existence—a real, historical ascetic who ascended halfway to godhood through absolute faith. The inner sanctuary of Mount Yudono has no shrine building; instead, a giant, brownish-red sacred rock gushing hot water serves as the object of worship itself, and pilgrims must walk the approach barefoot. In this sacred area that preserves the archetype of nature worship, ascetics aimed for *sokushin-jōbutsu*—becoming a Buddha in this very life. The "tree-eating asceticism" was a preparation for self-mummification: first giving up grains, and eventually restricting salt and water to the absolute limit to wither the body. In the final stage, they confined themselves in an underground stone chamber connected to the outside world only by a bamboo tube with a bell. The moment the sound of the bell ceased, the ascetic was considered to have successfully entered eternal meditation. Exhumed without having decayed, their bodies became Buddhas, enshrined beside the main temple deities to continuously shoulder the suffering of the masses. They are not objects of terror, but the physical incarnations of a will to save humanity that transcended death itself, most vividly demonstrating the Dewa Sanzan region's views on death and the concept of the mountains as the otherworld.