Kaikoji Temple Mummies
Kaikoji Temple in Yamagata Prefecture is famous for two mummies or Sokushinbutsu of priests who fasted and meditated to self-mummification.
Japanese Mummies in Sakata 海向寺
Greg Goodmacher
Japan always surprises visitors. Ten American college students who recently visited Kaikoji Temple in Sakata, Yamagata, had an extraordinary experience. After peering into the tiny dried-out faces of two mummified Japanese monks, one student asked, "What are mummies doing in Japan?"
Mummies exist on every continent. But the ones in Japan are unlike the Egyptian mummies we know from museum exhibitions, myths, and movies. Egyptian mummies are the remains of royal and ordinary citizens who died from war, accident, or natural causes. After death, specialists in mummification preserved their bodies through a complicated process that included removal of the viscera.
Shinnyokai at Ryusuiji Dainichibo Temple in Tsuruoka, Yamagata. Note: The image above does not show the sokushinbutsu at Kaikoji Temple.
Types of Nuts Eaten by Ascetics
Kaiko-ji Temple Mummies
In contrast, the mummified bodies on display at Kaiko-ji Temple were priests who belonged to the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism.
The priests engaged in self-mummification - they prepared themselves to become mummies while alive! Their bodies are displayed sitting in positions of prayer. It is said that they have attained Buddhahood. According to ancient beliefs, they have prayed, are praying, and will continue praying for all of humankind.
Sokushinbutsu
Some Japanese take offense at the term mummy when applied to the remains of these venerated monks. The preferred term is sokushinbutsu, which the temple's English pamphlets translate as "flesh icons (即身仏), or Buddhas in their real bodies."
The book Mummies, Disease, and Ancient Cultures states that Japan has nineteen extant mummies located in various prefectures, mostly in northern Japan.
Kaikoji is the only temple that boasts two venerated mummies. In life, they were two priests out of a long line of priests who led Kaikoji Temple over hundreds of years.
The first priest to become a flesh icon was named Chukai. His transformation from a 58-year-old human to sokushinbutsu was in 1755. In 1822, at the age of 55, Enmyokai became sokushinbutsu.
Ritsuko Ito, the wife of the current priest of Kaikoji Temple, explains in Japanese the process of preparing to become a sokushinbutsu.
English-speaking visitors must rely on the detailed explanatory handout in English and photographs, drawings, and other displays related to sokushinbutsu history. Chukai and Enmyokai are enshrined in wooden altars behind glass windows. Photographing Chukai and Enmyokai is strictly taboo.
To experience the enlightenment of Buddhahood by becoming sokushinbutsu, the priests practiced meditation and self-denial, which included a diet of self-starvation.
They avoided consuming fatty foods and cereals for years. Instead, they ate various seeds, leaves, and nuts. They intended to eliminate fat from their bodies.
In some areas, priests drank water from hot springs high in minerals and arsenic, and they drank the poisonous sap (used for making lacquer) of Japanese sumac trees.
They hoped that those substances would protect their bodies from decomposition and consumption by insects and rats. During the arduous procedure of self-starvation, many priests died before they could enter the final stage of development.
The final stage of the route to nirvana was called dochu nyujo, or "suspended animation under the ground." First, disciples of the ascetic priest dug a three-meter-deep cave. Then the priest entered the hole.
Disciples sealed the hole afterward, but they left space for one bamboo pole for air circulation. The priest sat in the lotus position. He rang small bells while chanting. The disciples listened, and when the chanting and ringing ceased, they knew the priest had passed away. They removed the pole so new air would not enter the chamber.
One thousand days later, they retrieved whatever remained of the priest. Disciples often discovered that bacteria, rats, slugs, insects, and other creature had consumed the flesh.
Those whose bodies remained intact had successfully become flesh icons. On average, the dried out flesh icon weighed between five to seven kilograms.
Disciples clothed the holy bodies in kimono-like garments and enshrined them in temples, where they have been serving as religious inspiration and helping to protect humanity for countless generations. After a designated number of years, temple priests and parishioners replace the old clothing with new. Visitors can purchase protective amulets made with sections of the old garments.
In 1903, the Japanese government outlawed exhumation; thus ending Japan's unique practice of self-mummification.
One of Kaikoji's Extraordinary Religious Artworks
The Altar Where the Sokushinbutsu Pray for Us, Kaikoji Temple, Yamagata
Impressions
The history and visages of the flesh icons leave a lasting impression and provide unexpected insight into Japanese culture.
One visitor to Kaikoji commented, "It was fascinating to see to what extent they would go to help their people. It was basically a kind of religious suicide." Another added, "This was so surprising. I had no expectation that I would see mummies in Japan. One usually thinks of Egypt for mummies, but not Japan. It seems so contrary to my stereotypes of Japan."
Another fascinating temple with an enshrined flesh icon is Saishoji Temple in Niigata Prefecture.
Kaikoji Temple Art showing how the priests were buried alive before their passing
The Front of Kaikoji Temple, Yamagata
Access - Getting to Kaikoji Temple
Admission
Admission to the temple is four hundred yen. Visitors may enter the temple between 9 am and 5 pm (until 4 pm November-March).
The admission fee includes entrance into the main temple building and a room where the deified mummies are displayed. A short lecture in Japanese is provided, and foreigners receive an explanatory pamphlet in English.
Closed: Tuesdays, January 1-3
Admission Fee: 400 yen.
Getting to Sakata
Airplane: The closest airport is Shonai Airport. The flight takes one hour from Tokyo's Haneda Airport.
Train: From Tokyo Station in Tokyo take the Joetsu Shinkansen to Niigata city (2 hours). Sakata can be reached by train in an hour and a half from Niigata on the JR Limited Express Inaho. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on the shinkansen and JR lines.
Bus: Bus Company Shonai Kotsu offers an overnight bus from Shinjuku to Sakata (6 1/2 hours).
Getting to Kaikoji Temple
Walking: Ask for directions at Yamagata Prefecture's Sakata train station and walk for twenty-five minutes through town.
Taxi: It is a 7-8 minute drive.
The author of this article blogs about Japanese hot springs at hotspringaddict.blogspot.jp.
