Japan culture center - Sokushinbutsu was Scattered in the north Japan are two dozen mummified Japanese monks known as Sokushinbutsu. Followers Shugendo, an ancient form of Buddhism, monks dead and preserving self-seindiri in self-denial and effort to obtain noble status in heaven
This practice was first pioneered by a priest named Kuukai more than 1000 years ago in the temple complex of Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture. Kuukai is the founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, the sect that came with the idea of enlightenment through physical punishment. There are three steps in the mummification process was complete and the process took ten years of success led to mummification
The Japanese government banned Sokushunbutsu in the late 19th century, though this practice persisted until the 20th century.
