A shukubo (宿坊) is a temple lodging in Japan that allows visitors to stay overnight within a Buddhist temple.[1] Originally, these facilities were designed to accommodate only monks and worshippers, but nowadays, in response to declining numbers of monk visitors, most facilities accept general tourists.[2] Some temples, such as Mount Kōya, have open-air baths with onsen.[3] Shukubo are now considered semi-secularized and in many towns are the only accommodations available.[3]

Lodging in Hagurosan
A lodging house of Yakuoji, the 23rd sacred site of The 88 sacred sites of Shikoku.

History

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Originally, shukubo were used by bhikku and confraternities,[2][failed verification] and later by lay practitioners of Shugendō and mountain worship, and played major roles in the development of the latter two.[4] At the foot of Mount Haguro there were once 336 shukubo all linked to Shugendō.[5]

Networks of shukubo began[when?] to develop in Ise, Shima, Toba, and Futami-ura in a decades long construction boom.[6]

In the Edo period, visits to temples and shrines became popular, including visits to Ise, Kotohira-gū, and Zenkō-ji. Lodging houses were built at major temples and shrines in each area to accommodate ordinary pilgrims and tourists, forming a kind of tourism business, with specific areas connected to specific lodging houses.[3]

In modern times, some shukubo have been converted into traditional inns and ryokan for tourists who want to experience the atmosphere of a temple.[7][failed verification] Many modern-day operators of shukobo are descendants of families that ran shukubo when they were a purely religious matter. Originally, they only operated for one kosha but opening to the general public has substantially increased amounts of people staying at shukubo.[2]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Earhart, H. Byron (1968). "The Celebration of "Haru-Yama" (Spring Mountain): An Example of Folk Religious Practices in Contemporary Japan". Asian Folklore Studies. 27 (1): 1–24. doi:10.2307/1177798. JSTOR 1177798.
  2. ^ a b c Carter, C. (2018). "Power Spots and the Charged Landscape of Shinto". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 45 (1): 145–174. doi:10.18874/jjrs.45.1.2018.145-173. JSTOR 26854474. S2CID 165172176.
  3. ^ a b c Reader, Ian (2020). "Turning to Tourism in a Time of Crisis?: Buddhist Temples and Pilgrimage Promotion in Secular(ized) Japan". In Bruntz, Courtney; Schedneck, Brooke (eds.). Buddhist Tourism in Asia. University of Hawai’i Press. pp. 161–80. doi:10.2307/j.ctvgs09c4.13. S2CID 216255881.
  4. ^ Kaminishi, I. (2006). "Deciphering Mountain Worship". Explaining Pictures: Buddhist Propaganda and Etoki Storytelling in Japan. University of Hawai’i Press. pp. 165–192. ISBN 9780824826970. JSTOR j.ctvvmxpt.12.
  5. ^ Earhart, H. B. (1965). "Four Ritual Periods of Haguro Shugendō in Northeastern Japan". History of Religions. 5 (1): 93–113. doi:10.1086/462516. JSTOR 1061805. S2CID 161091933.
  6. ^ Andreeva, A. (2017). "From Ise to Miwa and Beyond". Assembling Shinto: Buddhist Approaches to Kami Worship in Medieval Japan. Vol. 396. Harvard University Asia Center. pp. 175–214. doi:10.2307/j.ctv47w8vp.12. ISBN 9781684175710. JSTOR j.ctv47w8vp.12.
  7. ^ デジタル大辞泉,世界大百科事典内言及. "宿坊(シュクボウ)とは? 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-01-19.
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  •   Media related to Shukubo at Wikimedia Commons