Statue of En no Gyōja. Goryūsonryūin (ja) temple, Kurashiki.

 

In this Japanese name, the family name is En.

En no Ozunu, also En no Ozuno, Otsuno (役小角) (b. 634, in Katsuragi (modern Nara Prefecture); d. c. 700–707) was a Japanese ascetic and mystic, traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, the path of ascetic training practiced by the gyōja or yamabushi.
He was banished by the Imperial Court to Izu Ōshima on June 26, 699, but folk tales at least as old as the Nihon Ryōiki (c. 800) recount his supernatural powers and exploits.
He also referred to by the name En no Gyōja (役行者 "En the ascetic"), En no Ubasoku (役優婆塞 "En the lay monk") , or under the full name En no Kimi Ozunu, where Kimi (君) is his kabane or titular name.

Historical references.

Even historical accounts of his life are intermixed with legends and folklore. According to the chronicle Shoku Nihongi (797 AD), En no Ozunu was banished to the island of Izu Ōshima on June 26, 699:
On hinoto-ushi (sexagenary "fire ox") day  [24th day of the 5th month, Mommu 3 (June 26, 699 AD)], En no Kimi Ozunu was banished to Izu no Shima. Ozunu had first lived in Mount Katsuragi and been acclaimed for his sorcery and was the teacher of Outer Junior 5th Rank Lower Grade Karakuni no Muraji Hirotari (ja). Later, [a person (or Hirotari?)] envied his power and accused him of trickery with his weird magic. [The Imperial Court] banished him far [from the Capital]. Rumor says, "Ozunu was able to manipulate demonic spirits, making them draw water and gather firewood. When they disobeyed, he bound them using sorcery."
 n spite of this incident, it seems that the Court continued to highly evaluate the herbal knowledge of Ozunu's school, since Vol. 11 of the book also tells that on October 5, Tenpyō 4 (October 28, 732 AD), his student Karakuni no Hirotari was elected as the Head Apothecary (典薬頭 Ten'yaku no Kami), the highest position in Agency for Apothecary (典薬寮 Ten'yaku-ryō).

In the religion Shugendō

In folk religion, En no Ozunu is traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō,  a syncretic religion incorporating aspects of Taoism, Shinto, esoteric Buddhism (especially Shingon Mikkyō and the Tendai sect) and traditional Japanese shamanism.
En no Gyōja was conferred the posthumous title Jinben Daibosatsu (Great Bodhisattva Jinben, 神変大菩薩) at a ceremony held in 1799 to commemorate the one-thousandth year of his passing. Authorship of the non-canonical Sutra on the Unlimited Life of the Threefold Body is attributed to En no Gyōja. Due to his mythical status as a mountain saint, he was believed to possess many supernatural powers.

(A stone image of En no Gyoja (with two attendants below) blends in with the cliff line. The seventh century figure, En, is claimed as the founder of Shugendo. According to Omine’s origin story (engi), he “opened” the mountain (kaizan), and as such, is worshiped at numerous points along the ascent.https://asceticsandpilgrims.wordpress.com )

Оминэ (яп. 大峰山) — священная гора учения сюгэндо в Японии (префектура Нара); является частью объекта всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО в горах Кии 
Другое название — Сандзёгадакэ (яп. 山上ヶ岳)^.

A stone image of En no Gyoja (with two attendants below) blends in with the cliff line. The seventh century figure, En, is claimed as the founder of Shugendo. According to Omine’s origin story (engi), he “opened” the mountain (kaizan), and as such, is worshiped at numerous points along the ascent.

A stone image of En no Gyoja (with two attendants below) blends in with the cliff line. The seventh century figure, En, is claimed as the founder of Shugendo. According to Omine’s origin story (engi), he “opened” the mountain (kaizan), and as such, is worshiped at numerous points along the ascent.

A stone image of En no Gyoja (with two attendants below) blends in with the cliff line. The seventh century figure, En, is claimed as the founder of Shugendo. According to Omine’s origin story (engi), he “opened” the mountain (kaizan), and as such, is worshiped at numerous points along the ascent.

A stone image of En no Gyoja (with two attendants below) blends in with the cliff line. The seventh century figure, En, is claimed as the founder of Shugendo. According to Omine’s origin story (engi), he “opened” the mountain (kaizan), and as such, is worshiped at numerous points along the ascent.

История.

Ямабуси взбирались на Оминэ начиная с IX века. Их религиозные представления предполагают, что подъём в гору позволяет подняться над своими земными проблемами и приблизиться к миру духовному^.
  По легенде, именно в этих местах основатель сюгэндо Эн-но Гёдзя  вызывал гонгэн   бодхисаттвы Дзао     ; он же основал монастырь Оминэсан-дзи .
Как объект особого почитания последователей сюгэндо и место расположения храма Оминэсан-дзи гора остаётся единственным местом в Японии, закрытым для посещения женщинами по религиозным причинам, несмотря на действие принятого в 1872 году закона, который отменял подобные запреты. Запрет действует все тринадцать веков, что гора является объектом культа; на всех ведущих на гору воротах висят соответствующие объявления. Сами монахи при этом утверждают, что цель запрета не в дискриминации женщин, а в сохранении многовековой традиции.
Закон 1872 года как часть политики Реставрации Мэйдзи запрещал всякие ритуалы на горах, и ямабуси после его принятия начали проводить свои ритуалы тайно  ^. После окончания Второй мировой войны монахи вернулись на Оминэ открыто и возродили монастырь .

С 2004 года комплекс религиозных объектов в горах Кии, включая гору Оминэ, был включён в перечень объектов всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО .

Оминэсан-дзи.

Храм Оминэсан-дзи является главным религиозным объектом горы Оминэ и одним из наиболее важных в сюгэндо. Расположенные вокруг горы четверо ворот (Пробуждения, Практики, Просвещения и Нирваны) призваны отделять мир от места культа, где проходят ритуалы смерти и возрождения .