Monk completes Mt. Hiei's thousand day mountain marathon


Dai-ajari Endo Mitsunaga, left, heads to the Kyoto Imperial Palace's Kogosho room for the ceremony on Monday. (Mainichi)

KYOTO -- A 34-year-old Buddhist monk here held a prayer ceremony at the Kyoto Imperial Palace on Monday, following the completion of a mountain pilgrimage known as one of the most arduous religious practices in the world.

Endo Mitsunaga, chief priest of Enryakuji Temple's Daijo-in monastery, became the 13th to complete the "Sennichi Kaihogyo" (thousand day mountain marathon) on Mt. Hiei since the end of World War II.

The ceremony is dubbed the "Dosoku Sandai," and is performed only for those monks who have completed the harsher ascetic practices of the Tendai sect. Mitsunaga was bestowed the title of "Dai-ajari" after the training.

Followed by some 1,000 monks and believers celebrating the great feat, Mitsunaga arrived at the Imperial residence in traditional white costume, where he prayed for the nation's peace and prosperity.

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