What is Mikkyō?

Mikkyō (密教), meaning "secret teaching", is the Japanese term for what is generally referred to as "esoteric Buddhism" or "tantric Buddhism". Esoteric Buddhism originally deveoped in what is now Kashmir as a cross-pollination between Mahayana Buddhism and Hindu Tantra. The form of esoteric Buddhism which is best known in the West is undoubtedly that which developed in Tibet from around the beginning of the 9th century CE. Mikkyō, however, also arrived in Japan around the same time, brought there by Kūkai, Kōbō Daishi, from China in the year 810 CE from where it had become established a century or two previously, brought there by other Buddhist missionaries from what is now northern India.

Mikkyō is interesting in that it represents a parallel, yet independent, development of Buddhism from the same original roots as Tibetan Vajrayana. Numerous similarities between the two can be seen, as can numerous differences. To give just one example, only the "five-pronged" version of the vajra or dorje is generally seen in Tibetan Vajrayana ritual. In constrast, mikkyō utilizes single-pronged (独鈷杵, tokkōsho), three-pronged (三剛杵, sankōsho) and five-pronged (五剛杵, gokōsho) types of kongōsho (金剛杵) and further distinguishes between the "peaceful" (i.e. with closed prongs, of the type typically seen in Vajrayana) and "wrathful" (i.e. with open prongs) variants. Mikkyō is, in particular, notable for its preservation of the system of Sanskrit writing know as siddham or bonji, the use of which has not survived in Tibetan Buddhism.

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What is Bonji?

Bonji (梵字), or siddham, is a form of Sanskrit calligraphy which has been strongly associated with the practice of mikkyō since its inception in Northern Kashmir, around the 5th centtury CE. Bonji is mainly used today only in Japanese mikkyō worship (although examples are also seen in Chinese and Korean mikkyō as well).

There are two main styles of bonji calligraphy, the informal style which is written with a standard fude brush, and the formal style which uses a special brush called a bokuhitsu (朴筆) which gives both a consistent width to the stroke as well as a sharp edge.

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What is Kōshintō?

Kōshintō (古神道) is the oldest form of native Japanese religion, originally combining aspects of animism with shamanistic practices. Many of the disciplines utilized in shugendō, such as misogi (waterfall purification) and chikon (power-building) are drawn from koshintō.

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What are Tengu?

Tengu (天狗) are mystical beings with a long history in Japan. Tengu come in two main types, karasutengu (烏天狗), with man-like bodies but the heads of crows, and hanataketengu (鼻高天狗), which look rather more human but with very red faces and extremely long noses. Tengu are mischief-makers, martial arts masters, and are known to dress in the garb of practitioners of shugendō.

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