strips of hinoki wood, with both sides rolled up to make an oblong tube. Until they have completed their first 300 days, practitioners carry the hat under their left arm and are only permitted to wear it during rain. In case the monk dies while undertaking the practice, a coin called a rokumon-sen is kept in the hat to be used to pay for the ferry across the Sanzu River, the mythological river separating the living from the dead. White robes are worn, with this colour traditionally associated with death in Japanese culture. Waraji are worn as footwear, and tabi are permitted after the first 300 days have been completed. The waraji'' represent lotus petals, which buddhas and bodhisattvas are depicted as standing on in Buddhist iconography. Practitioners traditionally carry a dagger and hemp rope with which to kill themselves if they are unable to finish their practice. See also Milarepa Supernatural running Shugendō References External links Transcript of a story on the Kaihōgyō from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Foreign Correspondent television program Journeyman Pictures : short films : Marathon Monks (movie from the former transcript) The Spiritual Athlete's Path to Enlightenment by Holly Schmid 27,000 Miles to Buddhahood by Pete Bampton about Tendai Buddhism Ichinichi Kaihogyo (one day kaihogyo) in California, North America Head Temple Takao-san Yakuo-in Central Shugendo Training Center in Kanto Buddhism in Japan Buddhist asceticism