ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the history and intellectual history of mokujiki 木食 (lit. “tree/wood eating”) in Japan. It seeks to clearly present the various Taoist and continental ideas regarding the consumption of wood, leaves, pine needles and nuts in the wider context of special diets used in religious austerities in Japan. These practices involving the consumption of tree-based foods are believed by practitioners to cause longevity or the development of such powers as clairaudience. The practice is particularly associated with Shugendo and esoteric Buddhist traditions, and is linked to certain traditions of Buddhist statuary and Buddhist mummification in Japan. This study pays close attention to the relationship of mokujiki and the principles underlying Japanese Buddhist food culture in Japan more generally.
