Tag: Pilgramige

I’m back, back in Koyasan, back home. It’s been a long time, more than tow month I was on th road, walking from one place to the next one, uphill, downhill, on roads, through woods, along rivers and creeks. It has been a time for being with myself out in constant changing environment and now I’m back.

The last days

It was quite easy, no big climbs anymore, no steep ways downhill, just walking. After I arrived at Ōkuboji (#88), I decided to close the circel and go back to Ryōzenji (#1) to tell thank you to my friend Kinoshita San. She was very busy, so I decided to take a day off, hoping she’ll have more time the next day, but she didn’t. Anyway there wee also 3 friends there from Naruto and one of them has done Tokudo at Muryokoin 2 years ago. Together we visited the Namaste Guesthouse in Naruto and I stayed at thier place over night. I also used the opportunity to wash my cloth the last time during this journey.

The next day it became really hot and I walked to Tokushima to catch the ferry for Wakayama. I had to wait a while, time for eating and resting a bit. The ferry takes roughly 2 hours to Wakayama, so I still had a bit time to walk a little more. The heat continued the next 2 days, actually it’s still hot even up here in Koyasan. The last evening before goign up to koyasan, I went to a local place to eat something. First the guy told me he has only beer, nothing to eat, on the end I got Kani (Crab) and Sushis. I had a nice talk with people there, on the end I additional received 1000¥, the last osettai during this journey.

All the sudden, surprinsgly I was standing in front of Diamon, the big gate. I expected a lot of stairs – I remembered it wrong. It was easy the last part. Of course I was sweating, everything was wet 😀

Yesterday I still went to Okunoin, today back at he temple for morning ceremony and coffee later.

What’s next?

Well good question. I plan to write a book about this journey, but also need to make some money now. So first I’ll start to clean out the place here a bit and get reorganized. Still a lot of things, which were cooking up are not yet in place and still need some more reflection.

All in all it was worth the effort, it changed my view a bit I think, the way I think about different things and hopefully also the way how I deal with people.

I received so much friendliness during this journey, uncondtionally, just like that and I’m most greatful for that. I also was often thinking on my teachers, on Habukawa and Hashimoto Sensei specially and I want to say I big thank you to everyone, who directly or indirectly supported hepled me to make this possible.

Walking, weather report says, partly cloudy. It starts dripping, I put the rainsheet over the backpack, continue to walk. Dripping slowly becomes rain. I think it’ll stop soon. Passing by a coffee bar, which is the only place to sit in around. It has its day off. Slowly rain starts streaming, wind comes up, shoes get wet, finally a shrine along the road with a small place under a roof. I put my rain gear on. Keeping on walking. Rain decreases, stops. 15 minutes walking, clouds move, sunshine, still having wet shoes 😀

Today I went to Jinnein (#68) and Kanonji (#69), which are 2 temples in one. During the Meiji period Jinnein was moved to the same place as Kanonji. During the Meiji period the state tried to destroy Buddhism in Japan, because it was strongly connected to the traditional clans and Samurais, who didn’t like the modernization of Japan, which was actually enforced by the US. Anyway, that’s all history and I often can perceive it’s traces it left behind.
The let’s say practical thing was I got stamps for two temples from one office.
What amazed me was the site, a little hill hosting two temples in the back at one site. These temples are so different! Jinnein has a very interesting Hondõ, a successful mixture of modern architecture mixed with traditional elements. The entrance reminds to the museum of modern art in New York, followed by a building like a traditional temple. The Hondō of Kanonji on the other side is a red painted old style building.
Of course there’s a big Shrine in front of the hill and behind a big park with a huge sand coin. They say if you look the coin you’ll be healthy and wealthy.
Well, I did 🙂

Now I’m sitting in a pub writing this blog and still want to walk to Motoyamaji (#70), where is a park next to it. Parks usually have toilets and often a roof. Weather should be fine tonight anyway 🙂

Today I’m at Mima michi-no-eki, a street station. A convenient place to stay over night. There are toilets, vending machines and a roof, which allows me to dry my tent 🙂

It’s still early. I arrived at Ryukōji around 4:30pm, too late to proceed to Butsumokuji, although it’s only 4km – temples are closing their offices at 5pm. At Ryukōji I was told, Mima is the best place to stay.
It’s especially early for me, as I usually don’t fall asleep before 12 or even later. During the day while walking, my head just perceives the environment. I love these moments when the sun kisses the trees in the forest and her beans are reflecting on the wet leaves on the ground. Winds and birds, often a creek are the only noises around. It’s like perfect peace, harmony. When clouds are slowly moving through twilight, like fog, branches on the floor transform to snakes, moved by water, the cool wind gives the impression of other spheres being around. Trees tapping my hat or shoulder, indifferent noises from far away, crack, crack … a Tanuki crosses my way and tries to get away as quickly as possible from the big strange monster with a stick and a tingling bell on it.
In the evening, after I found a place to stay, made myself comfortable, ate dinner, then slowly slowly the head starts filling with thoughts. I’m not tired, my feet are, the rest is not. The present moment I’m happy to experience while walking off the roads are washed away, by thoughts on history, politics, personal experiences in the past. As if I could change a little piece of that what can’t be changed. As I could be changed to whatever won’t happen. Things I’d still like to do or what I could all do after coming back from this journey. The ground is too hard, but in fact the mind is too busy. As soon as I let go any practice the monkey goes crazy. Things are as they are, mosquitos won’t disappear, also I wish to, cars and trucks will still pass by on the streets and eventually wash my face with water, just felt down from the sky. Today I read, Bob Marley said once, some people feel the rain, some people just get wet. That sounds to me like the sparkles of harmony compete with the craziness of the monkey, which brings me to the question, will I be able to ride the bull on the end?

Three days ago, it was raining and I tried to relax my tortured feet, I met a younger guy in front of a convini. He’s Japanese and was pulling his backpack on a trolly, which looked somehow funny. We just exchanged a couple of words, as he wanted to move on. An hour later I caught up with him and we started walking together for 2 days.

He was talking a lot in Japanese and I often didn’t understand him, because the rain was dropping on my hat and I had the poncho over my ears and my Japanese skill aren’t really that good as well. So he concluded on the end, I have bad ears 😀
Later I ask him how he deals with his stuff on mountain paths. He told me that he carries everything. Later I figured out that he avoids those paths marked as あしずり footpath.
The first night we spent in minchoku, a kind of boardinghouse with dinner and breakfast, which also serves as the local pub. This was nice, we were both wet down to the bones. Later I registered that he was irritated that I ordered beer for dinner. He felt he also had to drink. Later an elderly guy came in and I really had a good talk with him. It sometimes takes me a while to understand, but that’s part of such a conversation. Anyway the guy ordered more beer and my companion also drunk. I still had the feeling he didn’t like it, but hey, no one told him to drink! He’s old enough and should be able to decide, right? He was not able to break out of his Japanese Sempai-Sensei mind-border.
The next day we continued walking and at one point I extended a break and let him continue alone. I was irritated by his talking. It dispersed my concentration and it also got harder for me and of corse my shoes, or better to say the blisters they caused, bothered me more than walking alone. This might be surprising for some of you. When I walk alone, I often repeat mantras. This makes my mind clear and calm, chit chatting has the opposite effect and all in a while the tiredness of my sweated feet pops up in the mind and tells me to sit down.
Last night we spent in a hut for Henros after visiting Kongōfukuji.
In the evening he was bitching about other people leaving their trash there, because the woman, who cared for the place passed away some time ago. As if people would know. Then he tried in a very subtle way to give me orders and that we should make a free day. This was the point I realized I didn’t put up borders strong and clear enough and that I have to continue alone. This morning I packed and went towards Enkõji, which I hopefully reach before the Taifun. Tomorrow I’ll first pass Shinnen-An, a hut which was constructed by the legendary monk Shinnen on his way back from Enkōji. Yūben Shinnen wrote the first guide for the Shikoku pilgramidge, which was recently translated to English. I’m excited to see that place 🙂

After 2 beautiful days on the coast of Shikoku…
….tsuyo, the rainy season started today! Now I’m sitting in a little henro-hut and it’s getting dark quickly. Raindrops are dripping on the plastic roofs, frogs and cicadas are singing their songs. Sometimes are car is passing by interrupting their chorus.
Around are my cloth, hanged of the boards of the hut. Hopefully they get at least a little boy dry until tomorrow morning. At least the stuff in my backpack is dry 🙂 meanwhile I pack everything into separate plastic bags. In Japan you get everything packed, so having enough bags is not an issue. Wrapping Culture by Joy Hendrik is a known book about this Japanese phenomena. While making a present in Japan, the wrapping is quite often more important than the content.
Fruits are growing into their wrapping
This also makes brand wear – stuff from a well known maker, like Gucchi, so popular here. The name is just the wrapping, the quality is not so important.
Now I will wrap myself in my sleeping bag and dream my cloth dry 😉