Ishikozume
Encyclopedia
Ishikozume was a ritual execution performed in ancient Japan by the Yamabushi
- practitioners of Shugendō
. The ritual is characterized by waist high burial in earth followed by lapidation (death by stoning).
Yamabushi
' are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits with a long tradition as mighty warriors endowed with supernatural powers. They follow the Shugendō doctrine, an integration of mainly esoteric Buddhism of the Shingon sect, with Tendai and Shinto elements...
- practitioners of Shugendō
Shugendo
is a highly syncretic Buddhic religion or sect and mystical-spiritual tradition which originated in pre-Feudal Japan, in which enlightenment is equated with attaining oneness with the . This perception of experiential "awakening" is obtained through the understanding of the relationship between...
. The ritual is characterized by waist high burial in earth followed by lapidation (death by stoning).