Yudono-san Jinja Opening Ceremony

And Daily Yamabushi Posts for May 22 to 28, 2026

Today was Yudono-san' Jinja’s opening ceremony for 2026. I wasn’t able to attend, but I did have some photos from the event in years gone by for you:

Passing through the beech forest on the way to Yudono-san Jinja.

Yudono-san’s torii gates are always a sight to behold.

The road up to the main shrine has a few waterfalls.

The Yamanba or Yamauba of Yudono-san. An evil old hag who became a Yokai simply for being female and walking into the mountains (as far as I can recall).

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Daily Yamabushi Posts for May 22 to 28, 2026

View from Honmyoji, home to Honmyokai Shonin, Yamagata’s earliest Sokushinbutsu (mummified Buddha)

Here are my Daily Yamabushi posts for the past week. Get more Daily Yamabushi posts at timbunting.com/daily-yamabushi. Discover more Japan essays and daily insights in the Kiwi Yamabushi Substack Archive, or follow my writing over on Medium.com.

1. Don’t Forget Your Homework

2. The First Step

3. 90 Percent is Only Halfway

4. It’s All Discipline

5. The First Step Again

6. A Cost or a Price?

7. Over Generous is Not Generous