first, understandably, the united states is young and any artifacts from ages past do not strike in me any sort of vast difference from my own experience. and in europe, where buildings date back hundreds of years, the sights still fit in with my own basic perceptions of culture. japan, here, is entirely different. for one, no churches. no jesus. no christianity. nari was telling me last night that even after japan opened itself to the west, christianity never really took hold here (came up in a conversation about homosexuality in japan, in that homosexuality isn't thought of as wrong, or immoral, but that any discrimination merely comes from the fact that is different from the rest of homogenous japanese society). take home point - i love the feel of being away from the West and experiencing something new, vibrant, peaceful, warm, beautiful and real.
i don't think that detailing all the temples i saw is a good use of my typing skills, so i am going to aim for brevity. first of, engaku-ji, a large zen complex built in the 12th century. all of the zen temples i saw had the same basic structure: a large gate entrance, a main hall, a large bell, and several temples. occasionally, there would be smaller shrines, wells, and the best, zen gardens. engaku-ji had a goregeous garden that sat behind a small building, and to get to it, we took off our shoes, walked across the tatami mats, poured ourselves some hibiscus tea, and had a very peaceful view in a very serene setting. though, my favorite part of the complex was the gate - no joke this thing was massive, and had dragons and flowers worked into almost of the wood. the colors, shapes, angles - just stunning.
from here, i went to metgetsu-in, a smaller zen temple. some of the same as before, just slight alterations. this one was covered with hydrangeas - purples and blues. i then began to notice that almost all of kamakura was covered in the same. from there, to kencho-ji, where i saw the Hatto, the largest wooden Buddhist structure in eastern japan. similar to engaku, the gates here were more than impressive. i found myself rooted in place, just staring in awe. the temples here had large dragon paintings on the ceilings. if i've had any thoughts as to my next tattoo, the dragon paintings certainly placed some ideas in my head.
from kencho-ji, i hiked the Daibutsu hiking course, a 4 kilometer hike through the hills of kamakura, yielding expansive views of the forest and lansdcape, as well as the nearby harbors and beaches. on the hike, i passed a park featuring a shinto shrine as well as some well placed pagodas for sitting and enjoying some trail mix i bought from the store. i seek out hikes when i travel as ways to really escape civilization and be at peace with myself and my thoughts. coming after multiple zen temples, that concept took a new and exciting meaning for me; i found myself wondering if i was traversing the same paths as zen followers from 800 years ago, making their own pilgrimage to the Great Buddha temple, Daibutsu. i became closely attuned to the movement of my legs, my breathing, my body temperature (yeah, it was hot. 85 and humid, and no cloud cover). and with temples and shrines appearing at various points along the hike, i approached each new turn or hilltop with excitement for what lay on the other side. this short hike certainly paved the way for my upcoming climb up Mt Fuji.
Daibutsu is the Great Buddha, the second largest buddha statue in japan, at 13.35 meters, cast in 1235. awe striking, indeed. another one of those moments where i caught myself completely enraptured in something before my eyes that challenged all of what i have seen and experienced in my life thus far. those who know me are well aware that i am an aetheist. it is a central tenet of my being, and its basic underpinnings of rationality and skepticism have eroded away any elements of spritituality i once held. however, seeing these temples and great statutes, i couldn't help but be moved. maybe it is because buddhism doesn't have deity worship akin to judeo-christian systems. maybe it is because buddhism is about self awareness and pure altruism, laudable goals that do not contain the inherent judgements of immorality that do judeo-christianity. maybe it's because of all the religions that i look upon with scorn, i have never lost my respect and curiosity for buddhism. whatever the root causes, while i did not experience some sort of religious apostasy, i did find a sense of wonder and calm, and a definite sense of excitement and openness to the 3 days i will spend at a zen temple in a few weeks.
finally, i left Daibutsu for the Hase-Dera temple, which held a large Avalokiteshvara Boddhisatva statute (the boddhisatva of infinite compassion). unfortunately, this temple did not permit photography, but take my word for it, another cultural gem. this temple sat on a fairly steep hillside, so it provided stellar views of the water and the hills.
at this point, i had been hiking and viewing for nearly 6 hours without stopping or eating, so i went into town and found a little out-of-the-way noodle shop for some soba with shrimp and a tall, cold glass of Sapporo, where i alternated between watching tv that i couldnt understand and reading my book (Wind up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami; its a lot of fun to actually have a frame of reference to the locations in his books).
that reminds me, i thought i would mention kafka tamura. while hiking, and stopped at a shinto shrine, i noticed a really cute asian at the handwashing area (all shinto shrines have a fountain for hand and face washing - ladle water out and let it run over your hands, just don't mix the post-washing water with the clean water!) (also, btw, i have no gaydar here - so many japanese men look gay, because maybe they possess more "american gay" traits like thin, fit, lacking machismo, well dressed, etc. anyway, i can't get my gaydar to work, so i am just assuming everyone is gay unless i am told otherwise). when i saw this guy, i had just been thinking about another Murakami book, called Kafka on the Shore (one of my top ten books), which featured a character named Kafka Tamura. so, that being in my head, i mentally dubbed this guy Kafka Tamura. we never talked, but he sure does move like a ghost ninja! he was running up hills, disappearing around corners, moving, it seemed, through the trees themselves. so as i hiked, i tried to keep up - one, because he was actually able to read the trail markers to know which way to hike, and two, because i was enjoying my mental game of "where's kafka tamura now?" eventually, he got well ahead of me, as i had to use the WC. though, i did see him later on at Daibutsu, and he gave me a cute little wave. i do enjoy the japanese.
this is a lot of typing, and i need to quit it. shower time. going out tonight. ttys.
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