Day One and then some...

Realizing there is still a huge gap between Wakayama and Temple 11!!! Just to fill in some blanks, here's a brief version...

I left Wakayama by ferry on my birthday, Friday the 10th. Crossing the Seto Inland Sea took a little more than 2 hours, and then, what was supposed to be a 20 minute walk from the ferry terminal to the central train station of Tokushima, Shikoku, took even longer than that. By the time I finally got downtown, I was persuaded to take a room in the city because it was far too late in the afternoon to go off to Temple 1 and begin walking. As it turned out, I spent 3 nights at the Hotel Clement (nice digs for cheaper than a Best Western!), and spent the time getting through all the issues I had about being without a real plan, being 31, being alone, etc. etc... It was harder than you might think to take that final step and begin in an entirely new mode. On the second day, I took a train over to Ryozen-ji (Temple 1) and bought all the henro gear to outfit myself for the journey: the Nokyo-cho (arguably the most important - the book in which you receive a stamp for each temple you visit - this becomes your record of the entire pilgrimage), the Kongo-tsue (walking stick with a bell - this symbolizes the Daishi himself, as he is said to accompany each henro on the trail), the funny hat (which in Japanese is actually called an umbrella - haha!), the sash, the robe, and prayer beads. I also stocked up on incense, which is supposed to be offered at each temple, and the all-important fudo, or nameslips. These are in some ways the heart of the pilgrimage; each one bears a short sutra to call on the Daishi's spirit, and you include your wish or prayer, your home, and your name, then leave one at every temple's Hondo (Main Hall) and Daishi-do as a legacy of your offering and focal point for your wish. I have so far been filling mine with wishes for practical things, for instance, for learning the way of the henro, for finding out what Buddhism means to me, for determination, for stamina, for direction... for quick healing of pain! I think of these less as prayers and more as meditations... It's tough to describe how I, very pragmatic in approach to religions in general, am trying to find a way to work within this esoteric paradigm. I find myself standing at an altar, next to folks earnest in prayer or chanting, I have my hands together, I am bowing to an image of Dainichi or Yakushi Nyorai (different incarnations of the Buddha) or even Kobo Daishi, the patron saint of Shingon Buddhism and this very pilgrimage, and I am wondering what on earth I am doing... Am I a henro or a Preten-ro, as a fellow traveler wrote on his website...? I have ended up deciding that while I am not about to jump in and start beseeching statues for my salvation, I do find a spiritual component to this journey, and maybe I feel that my actions at the altar, as a personal meditation of sorts, will help me focus on emulating the qualities that these saints and deities immortalize, might bring me closer to their nature, and to fulfilling my own wishes, rather than seeking grace from a sculpture.

And so it goes. Temple 1, 2, and 3 on the first day, Monday the 13th. I stayed at the Bandou Ryokan on the first night, eating cheap from a nearby grocery store. I think I was the only guest in the inn. The second day covered temples 4, 5 and 6 - I wanted to go to 7 where there was supposedly an onsen (hot spring) nearby, but they were booked, so I stayed at Temple 6, Anraku-ji, the Temple of Everlasting Joy. They had their own very nice onsen bath right in the temple dormitory - very nice! Dinner, breakfast, a private service and a chance to touch the Yakushi Nyorai, with the blessed mitten as a souvenir were all included in the ¥6500 lodging fee. Best deal yet!

The following day (the 15th?) I hit number 7 early in the morning, then on to 8 up in the hills, 9 back on the plain, 10, nestled way up in a valley, and then nearly back tracking to make my way down the flood-wasteland of the Yoshino River's levee toward Kamojima at the bottom of the mountain. Quite a walk. The last leg of the day was the bridge that carried me across the massive riverbed into Kamojima itself. I counted my steps, and got to 1273 upon hitting solid ground on the other side!

This brings it about up to speed... for more about Kamojima, look to the bit of intro in the previous post... Best thing about it was borrowing a bike from the ryokan and riding all over town - must have covered more distance in two hours just exploring the town than I had in 3 days walking... I felt like I was traveling at light speed! Wheeeee!