Introduction

The purpose of this blog will be to make a cross cultural comparison of mummification differences based on the social status of Chinese aristocrats compared  to Sokunshinbutsu  monks. We will be looking at two different mummies. The first mummy that will be discussed is the monk mummy Honmyokai Shonin  and the detailed context of his burials and findings, and the aristocratic mummy Lady Dai and and the detailed context of her burials and findings.


The method we are using is cross-cultural to get a better understanding of how different members of society in Asia; aristocrats and monks were mummified and how their social status is represented. Evidence to present our case about the different ways social status is conveyed will be burial details such as: manner of mummification, grave goods, and interpretations based on literature contemporary to the burials.


The above video we have included ,The Mummy theme song, serves to begin the discussion in that not all mummies are from Egypt, mummification is practiced in many parts of the world and it is not limited to elites 
such as Lady Dai but can also happen to monks like Honmyokai Shonin.



Summary of findings:

Honmyokai Shonin’s, social status was at first ascribed due to him being a Samurai which he then gave up in-order to become a Living Buddha; which are holy individuals that die to bring salvation to others. By becoming a monk he had to give up his ascribed status in oder to achieve his status as monk and further more as a mummy. The self-mummification process is long, hard, and takes a lot of determination. Honmyokai Shonin achieved living mummy status by using the techniques of starvation and mediation. By dedicating the last portion of his life to becoming a living buddha we can see that Honmyokai Shonin used his ascribed and achieved status to his full advantage. As archaeologists further study self-mummification in Japanese Buddhist monks they will find out more about the religious practices, superstitions, agency, structure, diet, work ethic 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 Lady of Dai's high social status as a high ranking noble is ascribed form of social status. The Lady of Dai was born a noble therefore her social status is ascribed and it is supported by the way her final resting place was organized after death, which involved many elaborate and richly decorated grave goods and coffins whose purpose was to make her immortal afterlife as comfortable and luxurious as it was while she was alive. 



Please continue on to the next five post below by clicking on the "older posts" tabs below on the bottom right hand side to learn more about the case study.

The Self-Mummification of Honmyokai Shonin by Lauren Thom

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. 

The life of Honmyokai Shonin by Maude

In the Japanese tradition, Living Buddhas refer to men who practiced the ritual of self-mummification, these brave men were believed to be holy individuals, that had the power to bring salvation to others (Jeremiah 2010a). Honmyokai Shonin is oldest self-mummified monk found in the Yamagate Prefecture (Jeremiah 2010b). To have a better understanding of how Honmyokai Shonin made the decision of self-mummifying himself it is essential to take a closer look at the way he lived his life.

Honmyokai Shonin’s secular name was Togashi Kichihyoei, he was a samurai serving the feudal Lord Sakai (Jeremiah 2010b). Around the year 1660, Lord Sakai became very ill, and death seemed to be waiting for him, but to help his Lord, Togashi went into the mountains to train at the Swamp of Wizards, where he fervently prayed for Lord Sakai’s recovery, and the Lord eventually recovered (Jeremiah 2010b).

Togashi most likely believed he was the one who cured Lord Sakai, because in 1661, in hope of developing his spiritual power, he entered the seminary at Churen Temple, which is one of the four major seminar groups of the Yudono sect (Jeremiah 2010b). Togashi stayed almost a year at the Temple to learn about the doctrines and practices of the sect (Jeremiah 2010b).




Churen Temple 

(www.japan-guide.com)

Togashi spent the next 11 years at the Swamp of Wizards, were he lived in seclusion (Jeremiah 2010a). It was at this moment that he took the religious name of Honmyokai Shonin (Jeremiah 2010b, p.62).  Honmyokai helped rebuild a Temple called Fudoji in the village of Asahi, the construction ended in 1673, and the Temple was renamed Honmyoji to honour Honmyokai (Jeremiah 2010b).  It was during that time that Honmyokai made the decision to become a Living Buddha (Jeremiah 2010b).

The ritual behind self-mummification is extremely hard to accomplish, and can only be achieved by rigorous ascetics (Hori 1962). The first step Honmyokai took was finding his resting place, he chose the hills behind the temple, and then proceeded to dig his own grave (Jeremiah 2010a, 2010b, p.200). Before burying himself alive, Honmyokai practiced mokujikigyo or the abstention of cereals for nine years; he only ate buckwheat flour, pine barks, nuts, and berries (Jeremiah 2010b).

In 1681, Honmyokai was buried alive in an underground stone chamber, he sat down in a wooden coffin that was lowered by his followers (Jeremiah 2010a; Hori 1962). Honmyokai died as he was chanting a prayer to Amitabha Buddha, it was a peaceful death (Hori 1962).

After Honmyokai`s death, his body had to be recovered to finish the ritual. To look like a Buddha he was positioned sitting with his legs crossed, he was also dried with incense smoke and charcoal fire (Jeremiah 2010a; Hori 1962). He was reburied for three years before his body was found completely preserved (Jeremiah 2010b). His body was exposed in at Honmyo Temple, in a hall dedicated to Living Buddhas, where his remains still can be found today (Jeremiah 2010a). Honmyokai Shonin is still worshiped, because is he perceived as a true warrior-monk (Jeremiah 2010b). Honmyokai is also believed to heal eye diseases (Kosei 1968).

Honmyo Temple

(http://www.cradle-ds.jp/e-dewa/e-rokujuri/)

Here is a video explaining a bit about self-mummified monks, and some valuable information for those who plan to visit the Honmyo Temple one day: