Over 1,000 years ago, an esoteric sect known as Shingon – which combined elements from Buddhism, Old Shinto, Taoism, and other religions – developed a horrifying practice of self-mummification of the...
Immuring themselves in an underground stone chamber, sealed tight, waiting to die: that is what more than 24 known individuals did in northern Japan from the 1200s until the 19th century, though it...
Immurement is a practice whereby a person is enclosed within a confined space with no exits. Normally, a person who is immured is left in that space till he/she dies, either of dehydration or...
In January 2015 it was announced that the remains of a Buddhist monk in a meditative position, estimated to be around 200 years old, were discovered in Mongolia. The monk was found to be in a seated...
Sunada Tetsu (1768-1829) was arguably the most famous individual who successfully mummified himself. Early in life, he was not religiously inclined. He loved a prostitute in Akagawa, Tsuruoka’s...
