Saturday May 8: Kamakura

Noel here!

Konnichiwa from Japan! I’m sorry that our blog is coming up so late – we have had some technology troubles in getting everything together. We’re working on a video to go along with each blog, but our program to make the movie is misbehaving, so we’ll just have to do with a regular blog for now.

On day two of our trip to Japan, we made an excursion to Kamakura, a city just outside Tokyo. Our first stop of the day was at the Daijobu – or “Big Buddha” in English. The site is, of course, a Buddhist temple, famous for its large Buddha statue in the center of the temple complex. Originally, the statue was housed in a building, but several hundred years ago a typhoon swept up from the sea, destroying the building, but leaving the bronze state unharmed. Instead of rebuilding the temple, the locals thought it would be better to keep the Buddha as it was, and make it an outdoor attraction to this day. People come to the temple from all over Japan to pay their respects to the enlightened one, and wish for good health and fortune.

Our next stop was for lunch, and we popped into a tradition ramen shop. It was easy to pass by and not see; a literal hole-in-the-wall restaurant, for it only has seating for seven people along the length of the counter. Unlike in the states, where we are used to ramen as being these dried noodles you boil for a few minutes and add a flavor packet to, these were fresh noodles in a soy-based broth, with slices of pork, chopped green onion, and pickled bamboo shoots. The experience was amazing – our little ramen packets are a poor imitation of how wonderful the real stuff is. The chef, despite his little shop, was obviously a master at his craft, and we all left wanting more. If you find yourself in Kamakura for lunch, go down the street with the red torii gate, and find the shop with the yellow lantern sign. You will be amazed.

Next we went to the Shinto shrine to Hachiman, the Japanese god of war. The shrine is the ancestral shrine of the Minamoto clan, who were once Shogun of all Japan, and remained an important family in Japanese history. The shrine is thought to be the place where the restless spirits of warriors slain in battle go, unable to pass on to the next world. It is said that these spirits wish to cause harm to visitors of the shrine, and the place has been known to cause people to become dizzy and feel ill for no apparent reason. Dr. Boss said that on a previous trip to Japan, she went to this shrine and one of the group collapsed and had to be hospitalized for several days. I felt fine for my saunter through the gardens, but I could not shake the feeling that there was a very aggressive energy in the area. When we arrived at the shrine proper, we heard music from the bottom steps of the temple, and found out we were lucky enough to see a traditional Japanese wedding! Well, we didn’t stay for the entire thing, but we did get to watch the Japanese equivalent of bride’s procession. I paid my respects to Hachiman and the other Kami present, and we were soon on our way to the quieter side of Kamakura.

After a little “adventure” in the back roads of Kamakura, we found ourselves at a Buddhist temple and cemetery tucked away in the hillsides Kamakura. Todaiji temple, or the “Divorce” temple, as it is nicknamed, was built as a refuge for women seeking to escape their abusive husbands. By Japanese law at the time, all a woman had to do was to get up the steps to the temple and get through the gate, and her husband could not force her to leave. There are plenty of stories about women attempting to escape her husband, stumbling up the steps for sanctuary, and her husband’s henchmen at her heels. Just as her husband’s henchmen grab her and to bring her back, she would take her comb from her hair and toss it through the gate, and would receive sanctuary. Of course, woman was not allowed to leave scot-free – she would have to become a Buddhist nun for the divorce to officially annulled. Although the temple is not used for this purpose anymore, I found that this small temple had a great serenity to it. There were less people about, less commotion and no merchants, and Todaiji reflected a more honest depiction of a temple.

That’s all for now! Again, I apologize for getting this up so late. Hopefully I will get the computer to play nice with me, and put up the video blog soon. Jya-ne!