Meeting With Family Departed - A Traditional Sapporo Cemetery

5th August, 2010 - Today was going to be a big day, and it was going to start off with a trip to T-chan's Ojiichan's grave in Sapporo. L-kun had been to Japanese cemeteries a few times now, and he knew (instinctively) that these were different sorts of places. He also knew that there was a connection between this place and what Okaasan did in terms of the family shrine, or butsudan back at her home. He naturally did, as he often does at home, and put his hands together in prayer. I doubt that there's much prayer going on - other than wishing for some of the food offering to be offered his way... Still, it makes you wonder. What do children think about in cemeteries?

Now this cemetery is quite different from the one at Takino (where Otousan's family's grave is). This is more your old-school cemetery. Nothing too fancy, and a little more traditional. The cemetery is in a relatively nice location in the city with the graves leading up to a hillside shrine, Souma Jinja... it's a peaceful resting place.

The mood in this cemetery is still, and slightly sombre. In that, it reminds me of a more typical cemetery that I might find in country Australia (ok - minus the Buddhist statues...). And quite a contrast to our next stop...

I'm sure there are many stories to tell in this place... and it's also the sort of place that invites the visitor to wander around and examine the headstones (though I'm not sure about how this is seen). There are many interesting examples in the cemetery, which a sense of unease prevented me from focussing on. After all, a cemetery is not the sort of place that makes for a good blog story in general. It is a personal place, and filled with many memories. 

Yet there's something in seeing how different cultures mark the passing of their people; their parents, their children, and even those that are no longer remembered in any other way. And how at the end of the day, they are not too dissimilar.

I have to admit that I don't know much about the history of this small cemetery...It's a nice spot however to be at one with the earth again, and I suppose that's not a bad thing to seek for in that which comes after. 

We paid our respects to T-chan's Ojiichan - whom we last saw back in the 2005 New Year prior to his passing. Partings are never final however, and we often meet even those that have gone before in our thoughts. I hope that he would have been happy for his grand-daughter, and satisfied that I had been looking after her well enough. I recall his soft gentle smile the first time I met him; and seeing him at our pre-wedding party back in October 2003. They are happy memories for me.

Sumiyoshi Taisha...When Grand Had a Different Measure

2nd November, 2006 - We didn't have too many plans for Osaka... other than to gradually wind down from the amazing 12 days we spent in Kyōto. Osaka has not really held on to the architecture of it's past. There are a few exceptions to this, including the Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine - or more properly Sumiyoshi Taisha (note link is in Japanese only).

To get there, at least by train, you need to make at least one stop. Catching the subway line to Namba station, you then change over to the Nankai Main Line, and then about 10 mins later you get off at... well you guessed it... the Sumiyoshi Taisha Station. Be careful as express trains don't stop there.

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Approaching the shrine, you will come across a very small number of shops selling goods - where we bought some traditional bekkouame candy. It was surprisingly quiet (perhaps because it was a Thursday)... a distinct contrast to the subways in Osaka which even around 11am-ish were packed sardine tight).

The approach to the shrine passes under a stone torii, guarded by a pair of guardian komainu...lion dogs. A fairly understated entrance.

One of the things that sets Sumiyoshi Taisha apart from other shrines is the Taiko-bashi, the curved vermilion bridge that was famous even in the time of Murasaki Shikibu, who authored one of (if not) the first novels in the world, known as the Tale of Genji. 

Taiko Bashi with komainu

One of the things that surprised me was that you can actually cross the bridge... most other things like this that I've seen  are well and truly blocked off from real use. Here's T-chan... looking wistfully out, wondering what the future of parenthood had in store for us... either that, or she was wondering how we would cope when we stop walking between 10 and 20 km a day (thanks to our trusty pedometer, which we now had a love hate relationship with). I suspect relief would be the way she would describe it.

Taiko Bashi

Sumiyoshi Taisha is one of the oldest Shintō shrines still surviving today, dating from the 3rd century. There are four deities enshrined here: Uwatsutsuo-no-mikoto, Nakatsutsuo-no-mikoto, Sokotsutsuo-no-omikoto and Jingu-Kogo. The first three are known as sea gods, and are responsible for the protection of Japan (I am assuming from external invasion by sea, or Godzilla-style attack). You might be wondering (from the above map) why Sumiyoshi Taisha houses sea gods... well... the neighbourhood used to be on the coast before the massive land reclamation in Osaka. Clearly the gods didn't see that one coming....

The fourth spirit at the shrine is that of the Empress Jingū (who lived in the 3rd century AD, and according to Wikipedia made it to the ripe old age of 100)... actually, she was officially taken off the list of Japanese sovereigns during the Meiji era - perhaps due to her questionable historical accuracy (i.e. she may have been entirely fictional). That didn't stop her portrait being added to the Japanese currency in 1883 even though no picture of her existed (and  hence she took on a very Western appearance... perhaps as the artist responsible was an Italian). Needless to say, her status is somewhat mysterious... even though she was credited with leading the Japanese armies across the seas to successfully invade Korea. History is always so... malleable.

This shrine is unusual in that the architectural style can be said to be almost entirely predate Chinese influence (excepting the Taiko-bashi  which is very Chinese). Little else remains today in Osaka dating from that time. The honden (where the kami are housed) are in a particular style known as the Sumiyoshi-zukuri... one of three original (pre-Chinese) styles that have been retained in Japan. There are four of these honden, each dedicated to it's own kami. 

Not sure if this is typical - but the honden shown here are all numbered... not named... so the one on the left is #3...belonging to Uwatsutsuo-no-mikoto (you need to research that... they don't tell you).

 And here's #4 (the one on the right)....the home of Empress Jingū herself.

And here's a view looking through the doorway in the first honden (that belonging to Sokotsutsuo-no-omikoto)...behind the door lies the kami's house, and that's not for public viewing. As far as I know, there's no little light that comes on to indicate whether the gods in at the moment, so it might be a bit of hit and miss as far as communicating directly with the god. The bell out the front does however act somewhat like a door bell... so give it a ring, and say hello.

Interior entrance of honden

Here's the reverse view of the 3rd and 4th honden...which clearly shows the gabled design, crossed beams, raised floor, and thatched hinoki cypress bark roof

Shinto has a reverence for nature that is inextricably tied up with the concept of the spirits (kami) manifestation in the objects of the real world. That's why objects such as mountains, rivers, and even trees can become sacred. The shimenrwa (rope) identifies the boundary between the normal world and the sacred... just in case you missed it.

In this case, the aged tree looks unmistakably sacred...as if it has formed by pouring itself from some fissure in the Earth's crust...

And here we find another representation of the Sumiyoshi torii,,, which is actually quite a distinctive design unlike other in Japan.

Within one of the shrine's buildings we found this odd arrangement... complete with maneki neko (waving good luck cats). I have to admit that we kinda felt a little disappointed that in the heart of Shinto belief in the Kansai district, in the holiest of holies, we would find an almost cliche tourist shrine. Still...this shrine is famous for worship for the coming rice festival, and I understand that this sub-shrine is for that purpose.

Some of the smaller shrine buildings show an interesting fusion of the Japanese raised floor architecture with the Chinese influenced roof design. Haven't been able to work out what these buildings are for as they don't rate in the official shrine building list. I'm kinda hoping that they weren't toilets...

Every year on the 14th June, an ancient Shinto dance is held, known as Otaue-shinji, which accompanies a rice-planting ceremony – a prayer for good harvests in the coming year. Alas...6 months too late... or is that 6 months too early? Either way, it's a nice shrine that's worth visiting... and quite different from the Buddhist-centric view that is common in Kyōto.

Yasaka Jinja - Gion We A Go-Go

To Maiko or not to make...er...oh?

27th October, 2006 - Leaving Kōdai-ji, we walked past one of the many traditional houses - when suddenly we came across this rather dramatic sight. At first we thought, it's a bit strange seeing a maiko (apprentice geisha or geiko in Kyoto dialect) just standing around admiring the autumn sunshine. Something was a bit odd... The reality is that this one of the places where you can pay to become a maiko for a day - or at least an hour or so.  Part of the attraction seems to be, being the main attraction. And why not... There's always plenty of people (including myself) willing to oblige with suitable oohs and ahhs and the click-click of camera shutters. Did I mention that my wife had even toyed with the idea?....

It's about 1.8 km, an easy stroll, from Kiyomizu Dera (A) all the way to Yasaka Jinja (C). We continue on from Kōdai-ji (B) a short distance later we arrive at Yasaka Jinja, or is more commonly known, Gion Shrine.

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Yasaka Jinja is one of the most important and beloved of all the Kyōto shrines. It was supposedly first established in 656 AD, and is dedicated to the Shinto gods, Susa-no-o (brother to Amateratsu Omikami) and his spouse Indahime-no-Mikoto, and five sons and three daughters.

The shrine can be entered from the south through this giant stone torii... one of the largest such stone gateways in japan. Though the main entrance is to the west (see further below)

Torii entrance to Yasaka Jinja

One of the things (make that two of the things) that jumped out to us where these giant...um... drums? To be honest we had no idea what they were, why they were - or even how they were. There are no major festivals on in Yasaka Jinja at this time (that we know of)... so if anyone knows the answer, please post a comment and put us out of our misery. I know these are not normally here however, and they certainly do make for a distraction. Gold and silver... sun and moon?

Now that's what you call drums...

Today the shrine is most popular due to it’s relationship to the Gion area, and more importantly the Gion Festival (Gion Matsuri which occurs at the beginning of July and runs for 1-2 weeks). The festival began after a plague hit Kyōto in 869, and as the legend goes, the head priest of the shrine lead a group of devotees to the shrine to pray for Susa-no-o’s mercy – and the plague was lifted. That was lucky!

One of the most striking features within the shrine is the roofed stage area where religious ceremonies and dances are often performed. It makes for a dramatic sight at night (but alas... we had other plans for the evening).

Ceremonial stage.

The shrine itself owes a lot of it’s architectural design to Buddhism, as at this time there was a gradual melding of the two religions, to such a point that the shrine itself was administered by Buddhist monks. Most of the buildings now date from 1654 reconstructions. The most important building is the honden or spirit hall where the resident gods reside. The bells that hang from the front are for ringing... like a door-bell... to let the god know that someone's about to send a prayer their way.

Yasaka Jinja Honden

The main entrance to the shrine actually sits on Shijo-dori (facing the Gion district) and is entered via the Ro-mon gates, complete with it's Korean Lion-Dogs (koma-inu... or shishi in chinese) that are traditional guardians to many shrines. These fierce mythical animals are definitely the sort of sentries you'd like to see... but they can be a bit too ... er... direct... (legend goes, they throw their young off a cliff to toughen em up). Now there's some good parenting advice. Though it's impossible to tell from this figure, like the Nio guardians themselves, one dog has it's mouth open pronouncing "a", then other has it's mouth closed pronouncing "un"... the sanskrit form of the alpha and the omega.... the start and end of all things.

Yasaka Jinja's Ro-mon gate.

Just down the road from Yasaka Jinja is Mauyama Kōen. As one of the larger parks in Kyōto, this park is  famous for it’s cherry blossoms, and the weeping cherry tree (below)  illuminated at night.... when by all accounts it really is worth seeing. During the day... well... it's not the most attractive of trees. I'll take their word for it... and unfortunately we couldn't wait around to see. The park was the home of the 12th century poet Saigyo. It was a turned into a public park in 1871.

Weeping cherry tree

It is also famous for the gardens of Ogawa Jihei (1860 – 1933 AD) who rejuvenated many of Kyōto’s gardens – and was noted for his use of water sourced from the Biwako canal. On this day it seemed popular with high-school girls... it's like a by-gone era of innocence. Or a school excursion.

Whilst Maruyama isn't the best of gardens in my opinion, it's a favourite meeting place and a good location to catch your breath after a long day. Unfortunately for us - and more importantly for T-chan who was starting to get tired - we had a couple more things to do before we could call it quits.

Kimomizu Dera pt 2 - There's Love in that thar Water

27th October, 2006 - There's a lot more to Kiyomizu Dera than my previous post. It's actually a huge complex of Buddhist and Shinto temples, shrines and even a cemetary where the monk Shinran is buried (the originator of the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist sect). Above the temple complex sits Jishu-Jinja, a Shinto shrine now famous for vistors seeking true love. It was common to have Buddhist and Shinto places of worship co-existing together - a symbiotic relationship that came to an end during the Meiji Restoration. As with many of the Shinto temples, it is the home of several gods... indeed the mysterious god Susa-no-o supposedly has a home here as well - one time rival to Gods of Yamato. However, he is more closely associated with the Izumo region... so this might be his holiday house?

One of the more famous stories of the shrine is that to find true love you should walk (with eyes closed) between two stones (some 60 foot apart) whilst saying the name of the one you feel is your true love. Should you reach the other stone un-aided, then your love will be strong and true. Look around for the statue of "Okuninishino Mikoto"... the Japanese God of love... where you'll find the matching half of the "love stones". 

One of the somewhat folorn sights of the shrine is a large barrel of water, in which is slowly dissolving the paper on which is written the many hopes and dreams for love of those that come to Jishu-jinja. In some ways  it seems as if all those dreams are but transient whispers, lost to the waters of time... in other ways it's as if the Cosmos were adsorbing the words to become part of a greater thing.... I'm not sure what comes of the water. Perhaps it's best not to know, as romantic notions are so much easier to hold on to if the truth doesn't interupt.

And for those for whom the love stones don't quite work (or who need extra special help) there's no end of tokens to assist the truly love lost.

Moving back down to the Amida-do (where the Amida Buddha sits in golden radiance), you can continue around the mountain - till you eventually come to another three storied pagoda, Koyasu-no-tō, which is said hold the Goddess responsible for easy births. This was a sort of must see... given the somewhat growing state of T-chan's belly. This one looks as if it's seen better days.

Unfortunately when we arrived it looked very much closed... Hmmm... hopefully this wasn't an omen.

Somewhat disappointed, we made our way back to the temple proper. Below the temple proper sits Otowa no Taki (“sound of feathers waterfall”), the original source of Enchin’s pure water. Even today, visitors to the temple will queue to taste of the purifying water of Kiyomizu Dera. Ok... when you think of waterfalls, I'm sure that you conjure up something a little "grander" in your mind. Clearly there's something else to this waterfall that's sparks the imagination of all those dedicated visitors.

There's a lot of steps down... but then again - going down is the easy part.

Below - there's no doubt about what the attraction is. Sampling of the healing waters of  Otowa no Taki. It must be good. Or alcoholic. So huge are the queues that T-chan and I decided to give it a miss. We don't have the time, and T-chan's not feeling the best nowadays. Also - there's something decidedly un-hygienic about communal cups. Especially on the mass scale that's evident here. There are three streams, carefully directed, from which to choose from...

Supposedly if one stream is good... more is better... however, sample from all three and your greed will rebound upon you.

Now don't forget to throw in some coins to satisfy Fudo Myo-o, the God of the waterfall. Apparently he doesn't take too well to evil-doers, and the definition of evil-doer always seemed just a little too vague for my own liking.

Moving on from the waterfall, you can enjoy the gorgeous stonework of the temple grounds.

From below the temple's platform looks even more amazing. All of this is made without modern things such as nails, bolts, rivets. All held together by gravity, friction and good design. Of course it's also designed to flex and move. That's more or less a pre-requisite in Japan, home of the earthquake.

Back to where we started. It's definitely a good place to go in Kyōto. In some ways, it's not as impressive to my own view as the gardens of many of the other temples we've been to... and the crowds certainly make you feel like you're in a tourist attraction rather than a place of inner-tranquility. The real advantage to Kiyomizu Dera is that it's a good staging place for a lot of other things. For that reason, if you've only got a short time in Kyōto, it's more or less a must see.

I Tort I Taw a Torii... Running the Gauntlet at Fushimi Inari Taisha

26th October, 2006 - Not having exhausted ourselves completely yet - though morning sickness was starting to affect T-chan in earnest (not surprisingly mostly in the morning). Our plan was to head over to Fushimi, in search of the perfect torii gate. First things first... we headed to Kyōto Station and took the Nara line, getting off at Inari station. You can also take the Keihan line and get off at the Fushimi Inari Station. The Keihan line is a good one to catch back to the shopping district... which we'll do later.


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On the approach to this shrine, it is possible to come across food stalls selling Inari-sushi (fried tofu wrapped around sweet sushi), a favourite of foxes... and you can also buy Kitsune Udon. There are places to buy this all along the trail up through the hills (I've heard). There were lots of school kids around at the time... and I have to say this would be a fun place for a young child.

 Before Kyōto was established, there existed a clan of people, originally from Korea, known as the Hata. The shrine was originally built by the Hata clan around the early 8th century, but relocated to the present location in the early part of the ninth century. At the time Inari was considered the God of rice (and other cereals) and also had an association with planting of crops and the harvest. This shrine is the centre of some 30-40,000 Inari shrines around Japan. Nowadays, Fushimi is known most for it's sake production.... that's sort of rice related isn't it?

Below is the Romon gate... donated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1589.

Here we see the Gai-Haiden (the outer hall of worship). Throughout the year you can find sacred dances being performed in the shrine (in the nearby Kagura-den) - however - we respectfully didn't take photos. Doesn't it feel great to have such cultural sensitivity?!?!

Inari is the god (or is that goddess) of fertility and rice... and as rice was essentially the life-currency of Japan for many centuries, Inari is also associated with commerce. Inari is able to manifest himself (herself) as a fox - or in Japanese kitsune. The wiley fox of Japanese folk-tale are often described as mischievous spirits able to shape-shift, or even possess people by going underneath their fingernails... The Inari fox statues are often seen holding a key in their mouths - the key to the granary... as is the prerogative of the God of Rice.

The torii gates have a somewhat vague origin....despite the inseparable connection with Shinto, torii appear to have first appeared during the Heian period, in the 8-10th century. A relatively new invention therefore in the timeline of Shinto belief within Japan. There are a number of theories of where the torii came from, yet they are almost universally accepted as having come from an external source, with Korea being a likely contender - the Korean hongsalmun is seen as a pre-cursor to the Japanese torii, but there are also potential links back to India, with the torana gate of Sanchi which is linked to the Shingon Buddhist sect.


Also, whilst torii are generally associated with Shinto, they are sometimes seen in Buddhist temples thanks to the cross-pollination of religions in Japan. They generally consist of a few key ingredients: (a) vermilion red in colour, (b) two uprights, and (c) two lintels. The lines of the torii can either be straight or curved depending on the specific style - though there are always some exceptions to this rule. The torii identifies, in the same way as the rope shimenawa do, the threshold between the impure and the sacred. The approach to a shrine may have multiple torii, each one representing an increased level of "holiness".

So it's no surprise that Fushimi Inari Taisha must be a VERY holy place indeed. From the main shrine you proceed up the mountain, also named Inari, until you come to the famous torii path. A vibrant portal into a different world. In fact, it's more a tunnel than a path.

No - this is not a photoshop blunder below. As you progress up the path, something very strange happens. The torii tunnel suddenly splits. Is this to accomodate high demand traffic? Is there an up and down track? Or some other significance? I don't know the answer to that... but I have to say my eyes never believed the apparent deception of perspective that the two paths produce. Or is it just me?

You may be wondering at this point... why? Well, the Shinto god Inari is associated, amongst other things, with business - success in business in particular. Therefore it was common for successful businesses to show their appreciation by sponsoring a torii. And the more success - the more torii. Of course, the implication here is that each torii represented a further demonstration of the power of Inari... and therefore a greater association with success... and who wouldn't want to be part of that?

Now here's the thing... the torii track at Fushimin Inari Taisha goes for approximately 4 km, throughout the foothills of the mountains. It's sort of romantic to think of travelling the entire length of that path to witness the majesty and the visual grandeur of so many 1000's of torii. In my view however (and I think I talk for about 99% of visitors) the alternative is to walk for some distance up to the first internal shrine. Several hundred metres up the path you arrive... I'm not sure if the priest here is on call 24 hours a day, but he was clearly busy when we arrived.

Hold on... that's not the newspaper he's reading, is it?...  Yomuiri Giants won again last night... Japanese yen gained relative to the Aussie Dollar (D'oh!).... I jest of course... don't worry...

So have you ever wondered how they make torii gates? Well, they have to grow them of course... it takes a long time - at least a good 10 years or more per torii. The shrine shows an example of one of the many torii nurseries where the little torii are fed, watered, and overall pampered until they become full-grown mature gates. You didn't think that they just miraculously appeared did you?....


The fact that there's two paths leading to and from this small shrine demonstrate to me that this is the well-trodden path. It should be said that there's nothing specifically spiritual about these torii - they are offatories... donated by thankful patrons no doubt. Indeed, the reality is that the path doesn't actually lead anywhere in particular (there are a number of shrines throughout the foothills), and in fact there is not one single path, but a multitude of divergent paths. Having said that... I never made it past the first sub-shrine so I can't honestly say it's not worth it.

My advice however is to not over romantacise it... rather, enjoy a concentrated burst of a very Japanese (or Korean, Chinese or Indian) Shinto tradition. It is, after all, in one sense, commercial advertising - the script on each torii denotes the company that donated it. Notwithstanding all of that, it's very impressive, and lots of fun. Depending on when you go however, you might have to be very patient to take photos without a stream of people walking through the frame.

A magical part of Kyōto, and well worth a visit on an extended trip. You can expect to spend at least a morning or afternoon getting to, walking around and returning from Fushimi Inari Taisha. There are few other sights that are so intensely Japanese however... I definitely recommend if you've got the time.

But the real question is - did I find that perfect torii? Well... in typical mystical style, I'll say that they were all perfect - just as they were meant to be. There are after all some 10,000+ torii to inspect - so there's bound to be the perfect one for you some where amongst them.