En no Ozunu ［役小角］ (b. 634): Also known as En no Ubasoku or En no Gyōja. The semi-legendary founder of Shugen-dō in Japan, a Buddhistic tradition of ascetic practices in the mountains to obtain supernatural powers that was later coupled with the practice of Esoteric Buddhism. A native of Yamato Province, he began practicing austerities as a youth, living in the mountains. At age thirty-two, he went to Mount Katsuragi where he enshrined an image of the god Peacock King in a cave and engaged in the recitation of magic formulas for more than thirty years. In 699 he was exiled to Izu as the result of an accusation against him by a former disciple who was a court noble, but was later pardoned. It is not known when or where he died. He is the reputed founder of a great many temples in the present-day Kinki district, the area surrounding Kyoto. Some schools that follow his practice still exist.