The mummified remains of Honmyōkai Shōnin
(Jeremiah, 2010, p. 199).
The mummy Honmyokai
Shonin is the oldest self-mummified monk in Yamagata, Japan and is recognized
for practicing the ancient act of Sokunshinbutsu, which is the becoming of a
Buddhist in ones own body through the process of self-mummification (Ichiro,
1962, p. 242.). This was a popular practice in Japan between the 11th and 19th
century through a Buddhist school called Shingon School of Buddhism which means
“True World” (Ichiro, 1962, p. 242). The model of their religious faith and
practice was to use self-mummification in hopes that each individual monk would
become a Buddha in his very own body. Many monks believed that if they died a
natural death they would not be able to control their transformation into the
afterlife and their reincarnation would not be successful (Jeremiah, 2010,
p.197). In order to successfully make it to the afterlife they believed in
meditating and starving themselves to death. This would cause them to be
lucidly aware during the period between life and death (Jeremiah, 2010, p.
197). Self-mummified monks also engaged in extreme ascetic practices, including
meditation under freezing waterfalls, long periods of starvation, and some even
used self-mutilation (Jeremiah, 2010, p.199). The Buddhist monks participate in
these activities to promote spiritual power and approach the divine in the
Mountains of Shugendo (Jeremiah, 2010, p.11). By examining self-mummification
as a cultural and historical practice archaeologists will have a better
understanding as to why Buddhist monks chose to die in this particular
fashion.
There are two types of mummification, the
first being natural mummification and the second being artificial
mummification. Decomposition after death begins fairly shortly due to the
breakdown of body tissues by internal chemicals and outside factors like temperature,
water, humidity, and more (Jeremiah, 2010, p.21). Of natural mummification
there are two breakdowns; accidental mummification and simple mummification.
Accidental mummification is where there is no human attempt to preserve the
body, the preservation was due to climatic conditions. Simple mummification is
more likely to occur due to the soil that the body is surrounded by that is
absorbent which causes the body to preserve (Jeremiah, 2010, p.21). The
self-mummified monks of Japan attempted to mummify themselves using the first
method of mummification being accidental mummification. However they instead
fall in-between the simple mummification technique and the accidental
mummification practice due to the fact that they did not make use of any embalming
techniques (Jeremiah, 2010, p. 25). There are many factors that have played
into the difficulty of choosing which practice the monks actually used. In
Japan there is immense humidity which along with other unidentifiable causes
could explain why some monks mummified and others did not. Due to this
unexplainable mummification in some and not others has caused archaeologists to
think artificial mummification was used in-conjunction. Though it is hard to be
certain, we can gather that through archaeology mummies can demonstrate
religious practices and superstitions, they can show agency, structure, diet,
work and many other pieces of valuable information. Therefore, mummified
remains can be seen as a doorway that sheds light on the practices, beliefs, and
customs.
The process of ‘Buddhist Masters’ becoming
mummified while still living was a custom that was practiced until late into
the 19th Century with some documented cases still occurring in the 20th
century. This was due to Buddhist monks participation in the custom to create a
"living" idol of a ‘buddhavista’ or incarnation of Buddha who would
reside permanently in a Japanese temple (Fleshy Bones, 2011). In addition to
this belief the number three is thought to be very important in Buddha
practices and therefore, one of the reasons why we can assume the the
self-mummification process is broken down into three steps. One particular
practice that Buddhist monks follow relates to three secrets of Buddhism; the
first is the secret of the body (mudrās), the second is the secret of speech
(mantras), and the third is the secret of the mind (meditation) (Jeremiah,
2010, p. 196). These three secrets hold the key as to what Buddhist monks
believe is important which may further explain why self-mummification is a
three step process.
Self mummification involves a three step
process: The first step being for a prospective mummy monk to spend 1,000 days
(over 3 years) eating a strict diet of nuts and seeds and engage in rigorous
physical training to strip the body of fat (Fleshy Bones, 2011). This process
was commonly known as mokujikigyō, which literally means “tree-eating,”
but refers to abstention from cereals (Jeremiah, 2010, p.195). The second step,
involved another 1,000 days of eating only bark and roots which would
eventually reduce down as time passed. Towards the end of this time period,
they would start drinking tea made from the sap of the urushi tree. This is a
poisonous substance normally used to make Japanese lacquer bowls. However, used
in this manner it creates a further loss of bodily fluid which is an important
part of self-mummification (Fleshy Bones, 2011). The tea gathered was highly
toxic which created a germ-free environment within the body and helped preserve
whatever flesh was left on the bone (Fleshy Bones, 2011). The third and final
step of self-mummification is that the monks would seal themselves in a tomb
located in the mountains which they connect to the surface by a tiny bamboo air
pipe (Jeremiah, 2010, p.12). There, the monks meditate until the point of death
- at which point they were sealed in their tomb. After another 1,000 days, they
were dug up and cleaned. If the body remained well-preserved after this 10-year
process then the monk was deemed a living mummy (Jeremiah, 2010, p. 196). Due
to this intense process many Japanese monks were unable to reach Buddha status
and therefore failed to become living mummies.
In conclusion, there are eight mummified
bodies on display in Yamagata Prefecture and thirteen are found in various other
parts of Japan (Jeremiah, 2010, p. 206). It has been found by looking at most
of the Japanese Buddhist mummies that many of them were mummified through
natural processes however, most of their internal organs have been devoured by
rats. It is thought that some undergone an artificial mummification process
which may make it difficult to truly tell whether their mummification was
naturally successful (Sakurai et al., 1998, p.309). The practice of self
mummification was extremely common due to many monks desires to become Living
Buddhas which are holy individuals that died to bring salvation to others
(Jeremiah, 2010, p.206). The practice of self-mummification has now ended but
by researching more about Japanese Buddhist monks archaeologists can find out why
this process of dying was so important to them and why it slowly faded into
non-existence.