{
  "id": 4104857,
  "title": "Participants Train to Discipline Their Mind, Body in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/participants-train-to-discipline-their-mind-body-in-japans-yamagata",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-29T04:09:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun",
    "slug": "the-japan-news-by-the-yomiuri-shimbun",
    "url": "https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/features/travel-spots/20260829-346119/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, a group of participants engaged in an ascetic training program at Dewa Sanzan Shrine in Tsuruoka. Clad in traditional yamabushi attire, the participants, appearing tense, walked along a cedar-lined mountain path towards the summit. The training kicked off on Mt. Haguro in the city on Wednesday and will continue until September 1. The aim of this rigorous practice is to purify and discipline both mind and body. A total of 132 individuals participated in this year's event, comprising four foreign nationals from countries like Britain and Australia.",
  "summary": "Clad in traditional yamabushi attire, tense-looking participants step deliberately along a cedar-lined mountain path toward the summit, during an ascetic training program at Dewa Sanzan Shrine in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture.",
  "key_points": [
    "Participants trained in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan",
    "Dewa Sanzan Shrine in Tsuruoka hosted the event",
    "132 individuals, including 4 foreigners, took part"
  ],
  "editors_take": "This training program at Dewa Sanzan Shrine allows participants to pursue spiritual purification and self-discipline, offering a chance for personal growth through rigorous physical and mental practice.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}