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The next morning, we woke up at 6:00 so that we could attend Kumagaiji’s Buddhist ceremony at 6:30. It was an interesting experience - as we entered we were given some incense to rub on our hands and a shawl reading “Koyasan” to wear around our necks. Then, we took seats among the other people who had stayed the night at the temple, several of them still wearing their pajamas. The ceremony began with chanting and a series of ritual motions in front of the altar, conducted by the head priest. At the very center of the altar was a miniature version of Konpon Daito, a two-storied pagoda in Koyasan that we would see later that morning. It is considered the center of the lotus flower created by the eight mountains surrounding Koyasan and is thus the sacred center of Shingon’s most sacred site:

The second part of the ceremony was a sermon, given in Japanese of course, by the head priest. While I certainly didn’t understand complexities of the sermon, I do know that he discussed religious beliefs all over the world, religion in Japan (or its supposed lack there-of), and the failure of some major temples in Japan in fulfilling their social purpose. He seemed particularly unhappy with Tokyo’s Sensoji. Of course, he finished with a sales pitch for Shingon including recommending a video on Kukai’s life. After the sermon, we stood in the footprints of the Buddha and walked around the altar before returning to our rooms where we were served breakfast of miso soup and rice.

After saying goodbye to our hosts at Kumagaiji (and paying them the $100 per person they charged for hosting us) we headed out to do some final sightseeing in Koyasan. Notable sights included Konpon Daito (shown above) and Kongobuji (Shingon’s main temple) which had several beautiful gardens:

After stopping by the Tokugawa memorial where both Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada are enshrined, we got back on the cablecar down the mountain and headed for Nara:

Nara is about 50 km away from Koyasan, but because of the windy mountain tracks and frequent stops, the trip took nearly three hours. After arriving in Nara, we immediately joined the crowds and headed to Todaiji, the largest wooden building in the world, and home to Nara’s daibutsu - the largest Buddha statue in Japan. The statue represents Dainichi Nyorai (Sk. Vairocana), the eternal manifestation of Gautama Buddha in the Lotus Sutra and the incarnation of the dharmakaya. It was impressive, to say the least, but the throngs of Golden Week tourists took away some of the atmosphere that must usually exist in Todaiji. Todaiji and the daibutsu:

At the back of Todaiji is a large pillar with a hole through it, which is said to be exactly the same size as one of the daibutsu’s nostrils. On a less busy day, anyone might be seen squeezing through the hole, as climbing through it guarantees enlightenment. However, since it was Golden Week only children were climbing through it and the line was ridiculously long:

Last week was one of the biggest holiday seasons in Japan - Golden Week. During this week, there are three national holidays - Showa Day (the birthday of emperor Hirohito), Children’s Day, and Constitution Day. Additionally, since Children’s Day and Constitution Day are always separated by a single day, the day in between has come to be known as People’s Day, since most people will get some kind of vacation on that day as well. This year, since Children’s Day fell on a Saturday and Constitution Day on a Monday, the Golden Week season ran from Tuesday, April 29th until Tuesday, May 6th.

What does this holiday season mean for us? Well, we didn’t get eight or nine days off like many Japanese do, but we did have a very light schedule last week and we didn’t have to work Monday or Tuesday of this week. This is the only four-day weekend that we’ll get the entire year that we’re in Japan, so we had to take advantage of it. So, we prepared ourselves for the ridiculous crowds that were bound to be everywhere during Golden Week and, last Saturday morning, set off for Koyasan.

Koyasan is a raised plateau about 1000m above sea level on the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama prefecture that is home to the Shingon sect of Buddhism. Shingon, is the only other example of Vajrayana Buddhism (with the exception of isolated sects in China) in the world besides Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded by a monk named Kukai in the ninth century after he brought the esoteric teachings from China. The ability to affect earthly problems with esoteric practices involving mandala and mantra helped the sect become successful in a period rife with political and military conflict. After Kukai left the sect (I say left because it is still commonly believed that he resides in deep samadhi in Koyasan, awaiting the coming of Maitreya) he became known by the title Kobo Daishi, and is best recognized in images or statues by his traveler’s hat and stick. Many pilgrims imitate this dress as they complete their pilgrimages:

Our first stop in Koyasan was Okunoin, a beautiful graveyard where a huge number of famous Buddhists are buried, or at least partially buried - one of the great benefits of the Japanese practice of cremation is that it’s then quite easy to be buried in more than one place. Additionally, the graveyard holds a memorial to Kobo Daishi that is one of the most atmospheric places I’ve ever visited. The smell of the incense, the chanting of the monks, and the strange light given off by the thousands of lanterns in the temple made it incredibly unique:

After Okunoin, we checked into Kamagaiji, a Shukubo, or temple with guest lodging. An hour after arriving we were served dinner in our rooms, in the vegetarian style passed down by the monks for centuries:

Later, we changed into our yukata (summer or sleeping kimonos) and went to bed early, as we had to wake up at 6:00 the next morning for the Buddhist ceremony:

I’ll end my post on Koyasan for now, but look forward to the rest of Koyasan, Nara and Kyoto in the next several days.