Tuesday, November 24, 2009

October 29, 2009


Temple 68





Temple 69



Temple 75 grounds




The grounds of Temple 75 is huge!





In the basement, following the path of darkness this is what I found.






Temple 75







Konpira: the famous vendors with their white umbrellas.








Atop Konpira-san.









I made it up 1368 steps!






































Kanon: Temple 68 and 69
Out of the 88 temples in Shikoku, these are the only 2 that are right next to each other. It’s nice because you get to knock two out of the way in one shot. The two temple grounds are so merged it’s hard to distinguish the two separately from memory. I remember getting a bit lost walking to this place and I tried to walk the ohenro path, which was the long way (but good thing I didn’t because I would have lost more time and the trains don’t run too often), but someone directed me through the shortcut.
It was through this blasphemous short cut that I was traumatized. It was a warm sunny day and on my way to the temple, I bumped into a Japanese woman. Red heels, black stockings, a short black skirt, and a tight black t-shirt, I took one look at her face and realized it was a man. This man stopped me for a conversation, saying that today he felt like dressing up as a woman. And I said “I see.” The conversation should not have gone further but he asked me if I thought it was weird and then told me if I had time he would show me around the town. I told him I was going to the temples (thus my ohenro attire) and he said he should come with me. He then lifted his skirt and showed me his bright red panties and pulled out his penis and told me he’s small. How the conversation made this strange sharp perverted turn is a mystery to me. There were dogs that lived in a house right next to the road where we were standing, and as if they sensed this grotesque scene about to come a few milliseconds before it occurred, possibly by the smell in the air, no sooner all 5 of them came out barking madly. As soon as I was flashed, as if on cue from the bark of the dogs, I automatically turned around and started walking towards the temple but I had to pass these ferocious looking dogs. I prayed my ohenro outfit would grant me some respect, some comfort to the dogs. The expression on my face asked them to spare me, and as I tiptoed by the dogs, surprisingly they didn’t budge. Thankfully, they let me pass. I guess my pure goodness shined through. What smart doggies! After that I didn’t look back and have no idea what might have happened behind me.

I was starving when I reached this place, because I didn’t eat anything in the morning, and so before I left the temple, I had some lunch (udon). Some old guy asked me about my journey, his interest peaking when I told him I was from America, and he insisted he take a picture of me in front of the Temple with his camera to place on his blog. After eating udon next to a group of 5 Japanese ohenro enjoying the same lunch, they gave me a snack to take with me on my way (gift=osettai). I was grateful and ate it on the way back to the train station.

Zentsuji: Temple 75
I heard this was a huge temple and so I decided I had to go to this temple. I spent about 2 hours here because they had some kind of museum that I don’t think was open to the public yet, but because the doors slid open when I approached them, I couldn’t resist walking in. Inside was a bunch of wooden sculptures of many different types of gods. They all looked very new and neat and uniform, as if all made by one person at one time, and I took a picture of the majority of them. It seems like the temple grounds was preparing itself for a matsuri/festival that night or the next day and flags of different colors were being hung.
I paid 500 yen to transverse the temple basement in darkness. On the walls were pictures of mandalas (gods of all kinds). You pass through this basement by using your left hand and pressing it against the wall for guidance. The purpose: it is as if the mandalas and Buddhist gods are providing you guidance on your way. Close to the end you get to a room with a voice recording and a room with some cement statue Buddhas and altar with a money collection box in front of it. I used my cell phone as a flashlight to see the pictures of the mandalas because I was curious.

I gave myself plenty of time to walk back to the train station. As I was hungering for some fruit, on my way back I walked into a supermarket. Because I was in my ohenro attire, every one in the supermarket stared at me, as if henros don’t walk into supermarkets. I love figs and so I was eyeing the beautiful figs that were 6 for 300 yen. That was cheap! But if I bought that many I didn’t have enough space in my backpack to keep them and I couldn’t eat them all at once because I might very well get diarrhea. So sadly I put them down and walked out of the store. No sooner was I on my way when a woman from in her car called out “おねえちゃん” (sister) and handed me 3 figs. She watched me eye the figs in the store, and so just gave them to me. I was so happy and grateful that as soon as I washed them at the train station I gobbled them all down. Delicious!

When I got to the train station, I accidently almost got on the wrong train and therefore missed my train that was waiting across the platform. I was just going to take the train to the next stop. I decided to hop in a cab because the next train would take 1.5 hours, and by then I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the next town. I paid 2000 yen ($20) to get to the next town, which took less than 10 minutes.

Kotohira: Konpira, 1368 steps + 500 steps = 1868 steps
My grandmother told me a few weeks before I planned this trip to Shikoku thoroughly that long ago she and my mom and the family went to Konpira. I asked her what it was, but since we didn’t have much time left to talk on the phone, she said that if I asked someone I would be able to figure it out. I decided to go here to experience what my grandma did way back when.

I was kind of pissed that I was rushing myself through this trip and paying too much money with cabs and the like. So I rushed up the 1368 steps. There was a lot of people walking up the steps, most (even the young people) with walking sticks so they can get that Buddhist touch, I guess. You would imagine these steps to just continue on and on forever, just going straight up, like in some movie, but the start of these steps is not as prominent as you would think (I was kind of wondering where Konpira’s steps would start as I was already advancing up), and though it sounds like an achievement, walking up is not as glorious or strenuous as you would think or others might tell you. There are about maybe 50 steps or so at a time (I counted at one point) that you climb, and then a small cement road in between the next set of steps. I felt like the purpose of the breaks in between was to lessen the blow. But, I wanted the full on challenge, and was ready for it, and was disappointed when I reached the top/end so soon. I expected too much (damn you, guide book). Some people however, really think that these stairs are a challenge and pay 6500 yen ($65) to get carried up in a palanquin. (What fat, bent out of shape American would do that?) Anyway, as you climb the stairs there are tourist shops that continue on the ascent filled with food and overpriced presents. On the way there are museums, temples, statues, a café, and 5 white umbrellas selling supposedly what they have been selling for generations (some hard yellow candy). These 5 umbrellas represent the 5 families that were given the privilege long ago to sell their goods in that location.

When you reach the top, there is a huge temple and a beautiful view of the city of Kotohira. It was cloudy on the day I went, so it was hard to see the islands in the distance. Because I was so unsatisfied with the 1368 steps, I decided to climb the extra 500 steps to get to the top of the mountain and see the view from there. Comparing 500 to 1368 steps seems like nothing, but the climb is so difficult. It’s because you already climbed 1368 steps that makes the next ascent hard. When I reached the top, there was an orange shrine and again the cloudy view of the city. There was also an interesting view of the side of the mountain, with its rocky jaggedness. Going to the top wasn’t worth it because there was really nothing much, but it tired me out and ate away at the energy I needed to get rid of so I felt at peace once again.

Because the next day I wanted to climb the mountains to Temple 86, which was 5km from the train station I looked in my ohenro book and inquired about a place in a town an hour away from where I currently was. I wanted to get to the temple first thing in the morning and thought my best bet was to wake as early as possible and take my time walking there from my lodging. When I called the place I introduced myself as a student from America studying in Japan and doing this pilgrimage. Maybe that was my mistake. I told the woman I was going to get there a bit late, by 8pm, and asked if that was ok. Maybe it was that when temples close at 5pm, so do the accommodations that are suggested in the ohenro manual. Whatever it was, she told me to find another place to stay for the night. How rude! So I was not able to stay in the same town as my next destination, but was forced to stay for one night in a city about 20 minutes away by train. I made a reservation with the cheapest place (5400 yen, $54), but thought even that was a bit pricey for my budget.

When I reached the big city of Takamatsu, in the train station I found out that the hotel I made a reservation for that night was pretty far (I would have to take the street car). Because the train station has so many signs that provided me with telephone numbers of cheaper places, that were closer, I struggled to find a place close by that was cheap and had room for me. I found a place that was 4500 yen, but when I walked to the place, right next door to it was a business hotel that was cheaper (3800 yen). I didn’t make a reservation, but didn’t need it, and she gave me a dirty room that smelled like cigarettes for the night. I was upset, but too tired to complain. I walked around the city, had some tempura with zaru udon (noodles) for the night that satisfied my hungry, travel weary soul and fell fast asleep.

1 comment:

  1. I became interested in the Shikoku Pilgrimage after videotaping a local (NY) woman who had recently completed the pilgrimage. You can see the video here:

    http://essentialdissent.blogspot.com/2009/06/shikoku-pilgrimage-88-temple-pilgrimage.html

    Helena Garan, who was the pilgrim in my video, had experiences similar to yours, where people would give her food along the way. Must be a good karma thing. However, she said most people were very pleased to see an American pilgrim, and a female American at that. This seems to be the opposite of your experience, at least with finding a room for the night.

    I enjoyed your witty, irreverant writing style. One doesn't usually hear of perverts and pilgrims in the same sentence.

    ReplyDelete