When you hear someone blowing a conch shell in Japan in January, it doesn’t mean a luau is about to start. They are Shugendo syncretic practitioners called Yamabushi. Their religion combines Shinto, Buddhism, Taoism, and more in a set of mysterious ascetic mountain practices.

3 comments

1. [video with English subs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zKJWR-V3GI)

2. I saw them today near ginkakuji, didn’t realize they were yamabushi. Thanks for sharing!

3. Those are the Beastie Boys from the video Intergalactic!