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T H E
S O U L O F J A P A N
IT IS 6AM
and the temple gongs are
being rung, the only sound you may
have heard in the past eight hours.
Clusters of monks and novices
assemble in the pre-dawn
light for their morning
meditation. In Japan,
many temples honor
a long tradition of
welcoming visitors
for meditation,
overnight stays or just
to dine on distinctive
temple cuisine. The
mountaintop village of
Koyasan, a UNESCO World
Heritage site, probably epitomises this
experience best. Koyasan temples
carry on as monasteries, conducting
ceremonies and accommodating
monks, pilgrims and travelers for a
thousand years now. The village’s
winding streets, temples and gardens
offer a glimpse of a Japan that many
imagine to have vanished long ago.
Most Koyasan temples offer
shukubo
or overnight accommodations that
help support the temples and keep the
tradition of the pilgrimage alive at the
same time. Guests are typically put
up in private tatami rooms, sleeping
in fluffy futon. Apart from the temples
at Koyasan, there are few other
enterprises in town other than shops
selling pilgrim paraphernalia like hiking
sticks, prayer beads and straw hats. So
don’t miss Okunoin, the vast cemetery
where Japan’s most illustrious are
buried, some with fanciful gravestones.
Kobo Daishi, who began the tradition
of the Shikoku Pilgrims Trail, is buried
here, making it a part of the pilgrimage
— even though Koyasan is much closer
to Osaka than Shikoku.
ShikokuPilgrims Trail
Isolation is what makes Shikoku so
appealing — the smallest of Japan’s
four main islands, it wasn’t until
recently that bridges connected it
to Honshu, the main island. Despite
today’s easier access, the island
remains in a time warp where a
slower and more traditional way of
life is observed. Shikoku’s main claim
to fame is the 88-temple pilgrimage
around the perimeter of the island.
People have been following the trail
for more than 1,000 years on both
personal and religious quests. Pilgrims,
known as
henro,
are easily identified
walking along roads or trails in their
Don , t miss Okunoin, the vast cemetery
where Japan , s most illustrious are
buried, some with fanciful gravestones
From top: The Okunoin graveyard; a
monk on his morning prayers; Ekoin
temple comes highly recommended;
(below left) pilgrims are called
henro