28/3 - Mt Takao

This day was one of the great highlights of the trip for me, and I know that whatever I write here won’t do it justice. A week before Matsubara Ayako-san (hereafter referred to as Ayako-san to differentiate her from her husband), had asked whether we wished to go to Mount Takao to witness and take part in a Buddhist ceremony. Matsubara-san’s (Ayako’s husband’s) cousin was a priest in the temple on the mountain. Being ignorant (of the particulars of Mt Takao, its history, and the form of Buddhism practiced there – despite studying Zen Buddhism for a while in the late 80s) gaijin, we said yes, but had no idea of what to expect.

The day started with an 8:30 meeting at Kichijoji eki with the Matsubaras. That took a little bit of coordination for this family – something we’re not great at but is kind of vital on a trip like this – but we were then in time to jump on the Chuo Sen and ride it to the end in Takao, then change and a 1-station trip to Takaosanguchi (“the mouth of Mt Takao”) station. As an aside this is an “easy” trip to make, even for the Nihongo (Japanese language) impaired, and the rewards (some of which are enumerated below) of visiting the mountain are extremely high if you have any interest in Japanese culture.

Mt. Takao is not particularly high as far as Japanese mountains go – about 600 metres, but it is particularly steep. There are several paths to the top, as well as a cablecar that runs from the bottom to a station a fair way up (still a bit of a walk to the temple). So we rode the cablecar up, which the kids loved as it got particularly steep near the top. Though the area of the station was a lookout with views back towards Tokyo we could only see the relatively close environment due to the haze that covered everything.

Now, as it turns out, Mt. Takao is famous for a number of reasons. It is the home of the legendary tengu (a kind of flying mountain spirit, a bit of a cross between a human and a bird, and with a long nose), as an area of tactical significance for the bushi (samurai), and for religious reasons – chiefly the Yakuoin temple, but also as a pilgrimage site (e.g., on the way to Mt. Fuji). The Yakuoin temple is one of the leading temples of the Shingon Buddhist sect and was founded over 12 centuries ago. Some of this information we knew prior to the visit, other pieces we learnt throughout the day.

What this richness of history in the locale means is that even the walk from the cablecar station to the temple (about 20 minutes for us) is filled with impressive sights: 400-year-old cedar trees towering up beside the path with the jagged paper ropes indicating a kami in the tree, little shrines and statues, stone tablets over a metre in height with haiku (a minimalist poem that follows strict rules of number of syllables and meant to evoke an emotion, feeling, or thought) carved into them, towering tori, .. and interesting little shops. One of the features of the walk is a staircase of 108 steps – corresponding to the 108 flaws (?) that (as I understand) Shingon buddhism says people can suffer from. I imagine that the concept is that as you ascend each step you unburden yourself of that particular flaw.

Arriving finally at the temple we entered and had about a 10 minute wait before the particular ceremony we had come to witness began. Five such rituals are held each day. The (inner) temple is a very large tatami room, classic temple structure all of wood darkened by years of burnt incense, with an extremely high ceiling and a central rectangular shrine area (the width of 8 tatami in length and about half of that across). The central shrine area contains lots of the “paraphernalia” of a shrine – altars, tablets, and a central fire pit. A couple of decent sized taiko (traditional drums) were around the room. The ceremony began when 6 priests, resplendid in bright green or purple robes entered the central shrine area. What then ensued was 10 minutes of chanting, punctuated by drumming, that rose and rose in tempo; culminating with the fire being stoked hire and higher and scented wood and other items being burnt (and altar tablets being waved through the fire). It turned out that two of those tablets had our name on them, and Matsubara-san picked them up for us after the ceremony. Very different to what I was expecting.

We then met Matsubara-san’s cousin – Syujin – a Buddhist priest and head of the temple in the town of Takao (not the one on the mountain). A cheerful, shaven-headed man in his 30s, he seemed to take genuine pleasure in explaining a lot of the history and details of both the temple and the mountain. I know I enjoyed it immensely.

Then it was lunch – a traditional Buddhist priest’s vegetarian meal in one of the temple’s rooms, set aside for us. The one exception to a traditional priests’ meal was that we were served beer and sake also. Quite enjoyable for Maria and I with the large variety of dishes, but difficult for the kids to find something to eat (so they filled up on rice).

After lunch Syujin returned and gave us a guided tour of the inner rooms of the temple, including the training hall. Again we were exposed to a wealth of information concerning the temple and Shingon Buddhism, and again with real warmth and responsiveness to our questions. The training hall was particularly fascinating with its plum, bamboo, and pine training/meditation rooms – though we were glad we were told at the end of the tour (rather than the start) that the glass of the windows was priceless and irreplaceable (being hand engraved and no one living in the world capable of doing that particular style anymore). Other points of fascination (too detailed to go into here) included walls made of silk, the fact that the temple buildings were 2-storey (very rare) because of the lack of space at the top of the mountain, the fact that the cedars were grown atop the mountain to maintain its neutrality so that any samurai controlling it could not observe forces to the east/west, a scientific explanation for the belief in tengu, bringing soil from the 88 famous temples of the Shikoku regions so pilgrims could visit each by stepping on the soil, and the firewalking ritual (something the temple is famous for) as a means of cleansing the soul. Ohh, and it came out that Syujin liked surfing.

What emerged for me was a very Japanese version of Buddhism, though very different to zen, Indian and Chinese influences were clearly evident, but so were local Shinto/spirit beliefs; creating a religion rich with stories, myths, legends, saints, and beliefs.

Finally, we said goodbye to Syujin and began our walk down the mountain by a route that would take us past Biwa-daki falls. Biwa-daki falls are used by the priests as part of their training (and in the past by pilgrims) – they stand under the falls and meditate. As those of you who know me can imagine, I was *dying* to go under the falls myself. Unfortunately there is no access unless accompanied by a priest and as part of some ritual. So I could only stand and stare wistfully. Perhaps next time.

We then traveled back to Takao city/township and visited Syujin’s own temple – much smaller but still incredibly impressive (for instance a 200 year old Sakura in the front yard, a cemetery under which are a number of shrines to victims of famine and the entities for curing), where Syujin lives with his wife and 5-year-old son. The kids had fun speaking the language of games (3 DS in the same room) while we chatted and looked at the sakura just outside the window. During the conversation Syujin gave us a number of gifts, including his (old?) priest’s fan with caligraphy by his master. I was very moved by his generosity – just as Maria and I have been by the generosity of so many people we have spent time with here – both old and new friends. We don’t consider ourselves ungenerous but compared to these friends I often feel I must be a miser. It is very humbling.

Then back to Kichijoji in the late afternoon with the Matsubaras who took us out to dinner, as it turned out to Tamazi – the same restaurant we had visited together the week or so before. Too soon it was time to say goodbye to the Matsubaras for this trip, and we stumbled home and into bed – tired, but very happy.