Movement Arts Myoko

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A prayer ritual passed down for 300 years.
Perform, embody, and connect over three days.

The Kari-Yamabushi culture, alive in the land of Myoko.
Not just looking, but learning, moving, and performing as a form of prayer.
A time to quietly reflect over three days on your relationship with the land,
with people, and with yourself.

Tour itinerary

  • Day1

    Opening Ceremony(Sekiyama Shrine)

    Historical Walk(Sekiyama Shrine ~ Surrounding Area)

    Hozoin Gozen(Murakoshi Residence)

  • Day2

    Classroom Learning(Sekiyama Shrine)

    Enbu Practice(Sekiyama Shrine)

    Tracing the Ancient Pilgrimage Path(Tsubame Onsen / Seki Onsen)

    Time for Healing in the Hot Springs(Tsubame Onsen Ougon no Yu)

  • Day3

    Presentation of Costume and Tools(Sekiyama Shrine)

    Dedicated Enbu Experience(Hozoin Garden)

    Closing Ceremony(Sekiyama Shrine)

Day1

Step into the Context of the Land

A day to experience the opening ceremony and step into the cultural context of the land of Myoko.
Visit shrines and historic sites to trace the origins of mountain worship and the Kari-Yamabushi culture, exploring how movement and prayer have been intertwined.
In the evening, we will gather around the Hozoin Gozen meal to quietly prepare for the start of the three days.

  • 1/3

    Opening Ceremony

    The hall of worship of Sekiyama Shrine, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, is usually closed. At this specially opened venue, we will hold the opening ceremony with solemn prayers.

    Quietly embraced by the spiritual essence of the land of Myoko, you can step away from daily life and surrender yourself to the world of Kari-Yamabushi mountain ascetic. Your journey to learn the prayers and movements of the next three days calmly starts here.

    Opening Ceremony
  • 2/3

    Historical Walk

    Centered on Sekiyama Shrine, you will visit nearby historical sites and learn about their origins and historical roles. Through explanations provided by a local guide, you will explore the background of mountain worship in Myoko and discover how the practices of the Kari-Yamabushi have been passed down.

    This understanding of the land’s context provides a solid foundation for appreciating the meaning behind the gestures and movements in the later enbu.

    Historical Walk
  • 3/3

    Hozoin Gozen

    After a cup of tea, you will quietly transition into the dining experience. First, you will try your hand at making sasa-zushi, a local specialty of Myoko. Then, in a residence overlooking a beautiful garden, you will savor the 300-year-old shojin-ryori meal known as Hozoin Gozen, which was enjoyed centuries ago.

    Accompanied by stories from local people, this is a moment to experience the food and natural bounty of Myoko through all five senses.

    Hozoin Gozen
Rest and Reflection

After a day of experiences, accommodations are provided where you can relax and spend your time at ease.
Carefully selected to align with the spirit of the tour and the character of Myoko, these lodgings place importance on the quality of the stay itself.

  • MAHORA Nishinotani
    MAHORA Nishinotani

    A private rental house that makes use of a traditional farmhouse over 120 years old, nestled in the woodland landscapes of Myoko. In a space with an irori (hearth), you can spend a tranquil day surrounded by the sights and sounds of the countryside, easing into a peaceful stay.

  • Seki Onsen Uguisu-no-Hatsune
    Seki Onsen Uguisu-no-Hatsune

    Nestled in the embrace of Mount Myoko, this small hot-spring inn welcomes only three groups per day.
    Here, you can sink into the reddish-brown waters, releasing tension from the body and quietly reflecting on the day’s experiences.

We can also arrange other accommodations based on your preferences and circumstances.

Day2

Embodied Movement

A full day devoted to exploring the movements and prayers of the Kari-Yamabushi through both classroom learning and practice.
By repeating the prescribed gestures and focusing on breath and balance, what you have learned as pure knowledge is gradually absorbed through the body.
Through quiet repetition, your understanding deepens naturally.

  • 1/4

    Classroom Learning

    In the classroom sessions, a lineage holder shares the history, gestures, and background of Kari-Yamabushi enbu. Through words, you will explore how movement and prayer have been intertwined and quietly trace the meanings embedded in the demonstrations.

    On this tour, you will also have the rare opportunity to view previously unpublished materials from the “Hozoin Diary,” experiencing the tangible traces of the era and feeling its atmosphere firsthand.

    Classroom Learning
  • 2/4

    Enbu Practice

    Under the guidance of a lineage holder, you will handle the actual tools and experience the basic stances and movements of the Kari-Yamabushi.

    Working in pairs, you will explore the meaning behind each gesture, feeling how prayer and movement are intertwined as you move in rhythm with your breath. This is a time to take things slowly, cultivating each movement with care until it becomes truly embodied.

    Enbu Practice
  • 3/4

    Tracing the Ancient Pilgrimage Path

    Follow the pilgrimage path once walked by Yamabushi before their mountain training. At the end of the trail, visit a waterfall and spend a quiet moment immersed in a place where countless prayers have been offered.

    As you walk, surrendering yourself to the surrounding nature, your awareness opens to sights, sounds, and the atmosphere, gently sharpening all five senses.

    Tracing the Ancient Pilgrimage Path
  • 4/4

    Time for Healing in the Hot Springs

    After tracing the ancient pilgrimage path, you will surrender yourself to the waters, taking time to gently restore body and breath.

    Focusing on the temperature, the sound of the water, and the sensations on your skin, you will release tension and calmly absorb the lingering impressions of the day.

    Time for Healing in the Hot Springs

Day3

Culminating in Prayer

Dressed in costume and equipped with tools, this day brings together the three days of learning into a single, unified experience.
You will perform the accumulated movements and prayers in a quiet, focused setting.
While attuning yourself to the land, you will deeply receive and acknowledge the changes that have arisen within you.

  • 1/3

    Presentation of Costume and Tools

    Before the enbu, each participant is presented with the costume and tools used in the performance. By donning the attire and holding the tools, the stances and movements practiced during training arise as embodied sensations.

    This is a quiet, reflective moment to transition from everyday attire into the ceremonial dress of the enbu, preparing both body and mind for the performance.

    Presentation of Costume and Tools​
  • 2/3

    Dedicated Enbu Experience

    Standing in a place where practices of mountain worship were once repeatedly carried out, you carefully perform a complete sequence of enbu under the guidance of a lineage holder, giving form to the movements and prayers embodied through three days of practice.

    This is a time not for showing others, but for engaging with the land, weaving learning and experience into a single act, and confirming within oneself a tangible sense of accomplishment.

    Dedicated Enbu Experience
  • 3/3

    Closing Ceremony

    After completing the dedication enbu ritual, a closing ceremony is held to quietly reflect on the three days of experience. Goshuin seal and commemorative items are presented to each participant, and participants share their reflections with one another.

    With the sensations that arose through practicing the movements and prayers in the land of Myoko etched into the body, the experience comes to a close, carried by a gentle resonance.

    Closing Ceremony

Belonging

Time spent together becomes the bond.

Over the course of these three days, you will find yourself growing closer to the land, the culture, and the people you meet.

Rather than being consumed as a one-time “special experience,” what remains settles quietly as memory and sensation, continuing into everyday life.

Programs

Introduction of each program

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