Seitokuin is a temple of Shugendō, located in Tomakomai, Hokkaido. Our practice is affiliated with Kinpusen Shugen Honshū, whose head temple, Kinpusen-ji, stands on the sacred Mount Yoshino (Yoshinoyama), in Nara Prefecture — a place of mountain asceticism for over a thousand years, and part of a UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage route.

The land on which Seitokuin stands is itself recognised under the Ramsar Convention, the international treaty for the protection of vital wetlands. Wild birds gather here, and though the city surrounds us, this quiet pocket of nature remains largely untouched — a landscape we hold as part of our sacred ground.

What Is Shugendō?

Shugendō is a uniquely Japanese path of practice, born from mountain worship and shaped by elements of esoteric Buddhism and Taoism. Its practitioners, called yamabushi, seek wisdom and purification through direct encounter with nature — the mountain itself is a teacher.

A Tradition That Crossed the Sea

The word Goma comes from the ancient Sanskrit Homa, meaning “to burn.” Long ago, a fire ritual from India’s Brahmanic tradition was absorbed into esoteric Buddhism, and carried across the sea into Japan. In this ritual, offerings are placed into a sacred fire as an act of devotion carried upward to the heavens. Today it is practiced mainly at esoteric Buddhist temples, and at Seitokuin it takes the distinct form of Shugendō Goma.

The Fire That Purifies

Traditionally, Shugendō's fire ritual is performed deep in the mountains, in an open-air rite called Saitō Goma — a great pyre of logs wrapped in pine and cypress branches, with flames and smoke rising into the sky. At Seitokuin, this mountain practice has been adapted for the indoor hall, as Futsūdan Goma, performed regularly before the altar.

As the flames rise, we are invited to let our own worldly desires and troubling thoughts rise with them — carried upward on the fire's energy, and transformed into light.

As you sit before the rising flames, hold your own worries and burdens quietly in your heart — and let the fire's energy carry them upward with it.

The Purpose of Goma

Offerings are given to the fire as an act of gratitude, and prayers are offered for the fulfillment of sincere wishes.

Offerings

Five sacred grains — barley, wheat, soybeans, red beans, and rice husks — are offered to the fire as a gift to the deity, joined by seasonal vegetables and fruits, chosen with quiet care:

• Thirteen kinds of seasonal vegetables, offered whole and uncut, to preserve their natural purity.
• Three kinds of seasonal fruit, offered in gratitude for nature's abundance.

Vegetables with a strong odor, such as leek or onion, are never used, in keeping with long-held custom. The exact varieties change with the season, reflecting the blessings of the mountains and fields at that time of year.

The Deities Invited, in Order

The ritual unfolds as three presences are called in turn:

Katen → Kongō Zaō Daigongen → Shoson

1. Katen — the deity of fire, known in Indian tradition as Agni.
2. Kongō Zaō Daigongen — the principal deity of Shugendō. A gongen is a Buddhist deity revealed in a provisional, manifested form — and Kongō Zaō Daigongen is said to be the sacred union of three great beings: Shakyamuni Buddha, representing the past; Kanzeon Bosatsu (Kannon), the bodhisattva of compassion, representing the present; and Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya), the Buddha of the future, representing the future. Taking on this form across the three ages of time, Zaō Gongen appeared in this world to save all people. It was En no Gyōja, the founder of Shugendō, whose devoted practice and prayer first called this deity into manifestation.
3. Shoson — the many venerable presences connected to each visitor: guardian spirits, ancestors, and unseen beings who accompany each person's own journey.

When Zaō Gongen arrives at the altar, the wooden prayer sticks (gomagi) written by visitors are placed into the flames — dissolving fear, and carrying each wish onward to the divine.