Koyasan-Mountain of Enchantment

Last time we were in Japan we stayed at a ryokan, and this time we decided to travel even deeper into Japan both geographically and culturally and stay at a Buddhist monastery or shukubo at the top of the famous Mt. Koya.

Since the beginning of the beginning Koyasan has been considered a sacred place, but it wasn't until 819 A.D. that Buddhist monks created a community there. According to information that I've read, "The area is a mountain redoubt, where eight peaks surround dozens of ancient temples, forming concentric circles in the shape of a lotus blossom." The mountain village is also made famous by the Buddhist priest Kobo Daishi or otherwise known as Kukai who is one of Japan's most beloved historical figures. He introduced Japan to Shingon Buddhism, one of Buddhism major branches, and founded newly 100 temples during his lifetime, which today's devout Buddhists still make pilgrimage to see. Kukai sits in a mausoleum at the end of an immense cemetery still in deep meditation until the future great Buddha arrives, or so Buddhists believe. Monks bring food to his mausoleum twice a day, just in case.

Speaking of the immense cemetery...Mt. Koya is home to nearly a quarter-million tombstones scattered throughout a beautiful and ancient forest at the top of the mountain. This cemetery is around 1300 years old (maybe older), with burial sites dating back to around 700 A.D. Our shukubo, definitely one of the most beautiful temples on the mountain, was situated perfectly at the mouth of the cemetery.

To get to Koyasan we had to travel several hours by train up a mountain pass that twisted, turned, and skidded along cliffs and crevasses. Most everyone was standing on one side of the train looking out over the cliffs shooting pictures of the mystical Japanese mountain range. This was mostly okay until we started to turn a corner and I could feel the train slightly tilt off-balance and I imagined us rolling down the mountain in our tin can of a train car...so I decided, along with another European woman to sit on the other side of the train as a counterweight. You know, we took one for the team. This is the best picture I could muster as from the position as counterweight:
When the train arrived, we still hadn't arrived at Koyasan. We had to take a cable car and then a bus to the very tip top where our temple was located. The cable car also appeared to be harrowing. It was not suspended in the air; however, it was train-like and was pulled straight up the mountain by an enormous cable. It was an incredibly, unbelievably steep ascent. These pictures don't do it justice.



The wonderful thing about staying at a temple was that we were able to interact with Buddhist monks. The monks that we met were mostly really young, younger than us. They spend the majority of their day and days in meditation. Literally, they sit in prayer position for hour upon hour, day upon day in deep, body forsaking, enlightenment reaching zen. Imagine our surprise when one of the monks, upon learning we were from Boston, told us in broken English that he was a Red Sox fan. hmmm... The temple was ancient and beautiful. It had a aura of relaxation and comfort. The gardens were breathtaking and full of life. The air was clean and clear. If you are looking for some peace and quiet, I'm telling you, find a Buddhist monastery.







The Japanese are meticulously clean. Like ultra, ultra clean. I went to a bath house while we were traveling and watched a girl seriously scrub her hair so hard that I thought her scalp would bleed. After they spend an infinite amount of time scrubbing, soaping, and rinsing in a shower area they take a long, hot soak in a very deep bath. Our bathroom in our Tokyo apartment is equipped for this kind of bathing technique too. Just to give you an idea, our bathing area is more than twice the size of our kitchen...it's THAT important. I wanted you to see the bathing area in the temple. It was very rustic.

This is the wooden bath tub with piping hot water. You can completely submerge yourself and relax for as long as you can stand the temperature. The smell in the bath area was so earthy from the warm fresh wood. mmmm....

So you sit on the wooden stools and then use the wooden bucket as a basin for washing and rinsing. There is a hand held shower also.

Buddhists are strict vegetarians. They believe that we are reincarnated from one lower life form to another slightly higher one until we are reincarnated into humans and have a chance to reach enlightenment. You move up the ladder as you live and learn. So, to kill another living thing would actually be robbing it of its chance to progress, even if it is a gnat, fly, or a gruesome spider. Accordingly the Buddhists fed us a vegetarian feast for dinner.

Rice, pickled veggies, sesame tofu, sweet black beans, miso soup with citrus essence and herbs, tempura (noodles, mushroom, carrots, eggplant, leaf, and beans), marinated and roasted eggplant, beans, roots, and squash, ginger soup (so delish), radish salad, and then fruit for dessert.

In the morning at 5:50 am (not early for me because I still had jet lag and was waking up at around 4:30 am every morning) the monks called us down from our room to participate in their morning prayer which consisted of a 45 minute long chant around an altar. The morning was cool and a bit of mist still hovered around the temple grounds. We tried not to disturb the serenity of the morning with our awkward footsteps crossing the ancient wooden temple floors. Inside the small prayer room sat 4 monks in prayer robes, heads cleanly shaven, prayer beads in hand, sitting in silent reverence waiting for us to arrive. The room was dim but candle-lit lanterns scattered light across the monks' faces and hands. The room smelled strongly of incense, a smell that usually leaves me light-headed, however this time it seemed different...richer, deeper, and more natural. I breathed it in in big calming gulps. In the middle of the room was a collection of relics and other religious images in various states of gold-leafing. YingYang were embroidered into the drapery that bordered the room and on the monks robes. Sitting in front of each monk was a handwritten prayer book. It was picturesque. The chanting began with a deep but clear "ohm...." and then, without interruption for the next 45 minutes, was a magical, melodic chant that was driven by the occasional soft ring of a bell or metallic clash of cymbals. It was an experience I'll never forget. When the prayer was over, the monks served us breakfast.

We took several long walks through the cemetery. The cemetery was extraordinary. It was really awe inspiring to know how many people were buried there and how their living relatives must have sacrificed so much to carry their tombstones to the top of the mountain so they could be laid to rest there. Here are some pictures.

This is the way that I saw Jonathan most of the time in the cemetery. He would stand staring at his map trying to figure out where the famous people he had learned about in in Japanese history classes were buried among the more than 200,000 graves. It took a while, but we snapped his picture next to the tombstone of his seven favorite Japanese historical figures.

This is the mausoleum of Kukai. It is one of the most sacred places in the world for Japanese Buddhists.

So we decided to go to the cemetery at night because the monks light the lanterns. I didn't really want to go because, well, I'm a sissy. I don't know about you, but a cemetery at night is always a bit nerve wracking especially one in an ancient forest where people freely admit their ancestors spirits' literally reside. As we were walking through the dark suddenly something cascaded down on us like rain from a tree. But we discovered that we weren't wet. It wasn't rain at all, it was dust-like, ash-like even. Japanese people are cremated, remember. Jonathan and I took a few minutes to brush it off of us and made a quick exit. Jonathan said that he thinks that a spirit threw its ashes on us to bless us. I don't know. I mean, if I was throwing my ashes an someone in my cemetery at night I think it would be more about cursing than blessing.