the days of old
Today Ken took Jacob, Lalya, Melissa and I to the shrine area of Nikko. We had gone once before, but there is much more than a days worth of ancient Japanese relics waiting to be viewed. We didn’t really know where to start, but Ken had a spot in mind.
He dropped us off at the entrance to the monk’s graveyard. It’s a famous spot in Nikko, and goes way, way back. The eerie weather of the rainy season made for a perfect setting to see the stone headstones, and tributes to the dead. As we walked about I realized that beneath our boots lie hundreds of individuals who committed their life for a cause they believed just. They are gathered together at this special place to remind of us days long ago. Many of the graves are coupled with a statue of the monk. It seemed that this was symbolic of his continued existence, if not here, somewhere.
Through the graveyard we made our way up to the statues of Jizo, alongside a river.
There are dozens of statues of monks, dressed with a red hat and bib. Legend has it that if you walk one way and count the number of statues, and count also on your way back, the numbers don’t match. Ghost statues, and they are always watching you.
We made our way to the main temple area. It is fairly touristy but not nearly as commercial as the temples around the Tokyo area. We decided to skip the 1000-yen entrance fee, and just walk up a set of old stairs that was in a hidden corner. We weren’t really sure if we were supposed to enter, but that made it all the more exciting. The entire way we walked side by side with hundreds of trees. These were the biggest trees I have seen in all my days. By my estimation I would say they were at least 300, and maybe up to 600 years old!!
When we made it to the top we saw a small shrine waiting. It was a roofed structure with two monkey-guardian-statues. The wicked snarl on their face proved they were serious about guarding this old building. As we gazed into the room are eyes adjusted to the darkness. A huge rip of thunder brought on a downpour instantly. We definitely felt out of place, but honored to be where we were. Through the darkness we noticed a figure that seemed to come out of nowhere. We almost jumped. A life size wooden statue sat in the middle of a small room in total darkness. As we focused more clearly it seemed as if he was glaring right back at, and I felt that at any moment he might rise to approach us. It was a very creepy feeling.
After we saw what was there we realized it was time to go. We paid our respects, said our thanks, and began the long walk down, what was now, a river of stairs. I don’t believe anyone really goes up there much. I was glad that we were able to avoid the trap and find a treasure. We’ll go back to the “temples” another day.
Tomorrow we wake up and climb Mt. Nyohou, 2,483m!!!!!
Tags: Japan, Travel
Zach
It looks like an awesome place!!! I love the second photo with the stone monks with red hats. Any ghost pictures from your trip?
not that we know of