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Sokushinbutsu



Estimated reading time — < 1 minute

Scattered throughout Northern Japan are two dozen mummified Japanese monks known as Sokushinbutsu. Followers of Shugendô, an ancient form of Buddhism, the monks died in the ultimate act of self-denial.

For three years the priests would eat a special diet consisting only of nuts and seeds, while taking part in a regimen of rigorous physical activity that stripped them of their body fat. They then ate only bark and roots for another three years and began drinking a poisonous tea made from the sap of the Urushi tree, normally used to lacquer bowls. This caused vomiting and a rapid loss of bodily fluids, and most importantly, it killed off any maggots that might cause the body to decay after death. Finally, a self-mummifying monk would lock himself in a stone tomb barely larger than his body, where he would not move from the lotus position. His only connection to the outside world was an air tube and a bell. Each day he rang a bell to let those outside know that he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the tube was removed and the tomb sealed.

Not all monks who attempted self-mummification were successful. When the tombs were finally opened, some bodies were found to have rotted. These monks were resealed in their tombs. They were respected for their endurance, but they were not worshiped. Those monks who had succeeded in mummifying themselves were raised to the status of Buddha, put on display, and tended to by their followers. The Japanese government outlawed Sokushunbutsu in the late 19th century, though the practice apparently continued into the 20th.

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Source (with photos!): The Self-Mummified Monks of Japan

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40 thoughts on “Sokushinbutsu”

  1. That’s because it WAS just ripped from a Wikipedia article. Pretty sad having something like this on Creepypasta, huh?

    Oh, and Creepypasta.com and Creepypasta Wiki are two different things. Creepypasta Wiki is a weird-looking impostor another site used to store creepypastas.

  2. Extremely fascinating. However, just because it has been passed around the internet time and time again does not mean that the original author doesn’t deserve due credit for writing it.
    This was posted on the website on May 16, 2008. The middle paragraph was taken verbatim from the February 5, 2008 edit for the Wikipedia page “Sokushinbutsu.” The Wikipedia page no longer has this passage, because it was determined that it was copied verbatim from a blog post from July 1, 2007. Although many articles use the exact same information verbatim, the 2007 blog post was the earliest that Google could scrounge up. Furthermore, the first paragraph is verbatim, and the last paragraph is noticeably “similar.”
    “Ilker” is credited as the writer, and this is the aforementioned blog post: http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/07/self-mummified-monks-of-japan.html
    I sincerely hope that he receives credit for the article posted on this site.

  3. Monks dying in an ultimate act of self-denial are worshiped and tended to by followers… I wonder if the followers see the irony?

  4. I must say that this is a bit extreme, I saw the name and knowing about it already I decided to read it, I must say that finding this here was a treat.

    About the pasta itself, I think it is a job well done, a little history is good.

    1. ThisIsANameForAComment

      I fail to understand what not believing in a god has to do with this story, please enlighten me?

  5. How would this be allowed as a creepypasta if its made entirely of semi-plagiarized information? Not because it is true, but because its copied?

    1. …there’s no rule against creepypastas being based on reality (that would eliminate an entire category and many excellent pastas), I’m not sure what you’re getting at here.

      Also, you’re completely ignoring that this post is from almost five years ago. It’s spread pretty thoroughly across the internet by now.

  6. This wasnt really as creepy as it was interesting. The dedication it takes to just sit there as you die for the ultimate reward is kind of inspiring.

  7. The liquid sap is filtered, heat-treated, coloured and dried before it becomes the hardened lacquer. Reactions are still possible, but rare, which is a big change from the liquid where even the vapours can cause extreme rashes.

  8. FaerieInCombatBoots

    Not very creepy to me, I’ve known about self-mummification rituals since I was 10. But if someone doesn’t research death rituals as intensely as I do, I ca see why they’d be vaguely disturbed.
    One question though, the sap used to lacquer bowls, wouldn’t that just make eating from the bowl dangerous, because of the poison?

  9. Wow, this is actually true…
    How many of the creepypastas actually are…?
    I think this is the second one I’ve seen…

  10. The best creewpypastas are the ones that are true, in my opinion.

    I mean, imagine if the Holocaust had been just a story instead of an actual event?

    … Sweet dreams.

  11. I like the ‘creepy pastas’ that are really just weird historical things/urban legends.
    Although it does kind of take out the point of it being creepy pasta, if it’s just historical information.

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