Day 11: Engaku-ji and Daibutsu Hike

I wake up just early enough to say goodbye to Hinami and Nastume before they check-out. I bid them farewell, and thank them for the conversations we had. I get ready and throw on tan shorts, and make sure to bring my poncho and guidebooks. My plan today is to hit two of my top 20 sites I want to see in Japan. First is Engaku-ji, one of the most famous Zen Buddhist temples ever, both within Japan and globally. Second, I have a decently long hike from Engaku-ji to Daibutsu (Great Buddha) of Kamakura.

Engaku-ji is easy to get to, as it is just a short 10 minute walk from the Kita-Kamakura JR station. I get to the Engaku-ji by 10, and start exploring. The complex is spaced out among a large complex, with paths cutting through a forest. Ponds and rock gardens border every building in the complex. Several of the shrines have surprisingly simple statues and decoration. Unlike the grand Pure Land temples, only the Buddha is cast in gold. The other statues are stone, and the walls are full of empty shelves. On the ceiling, a Japanese dragon is drawn flying in a circle, staring down menacingly.

I continue exploring and find an amazing display of archery by monks and members of the Engaku-ji. The archers are dressed in all-white robes, lined up on the side of a building. The bows are skinny, but long, extending high above the heads of their master. One at a time, the monk archers take turns shooting targets. Every move is slow, deliberate, smooth, and complete. The monk, when instructed, slowly draws an arrow from her quiver, notches the arrow onto the bowstring, and pulls the string back at a glacial pace. The arrow is thick as a tree branch, with a steel arrowhead the size of an American dollar bill. As she pulls the string, the ends of the bow bend drastically, almost as if made from licorice. From this angle, it looks as if the bow has no power at all, and is more likely to collapse in on itself than shoot an arrow. When she finally releases the bowstring, the arrow forces its way from the bow to hit a target across the field. This exercise is fascinating to watch, not just for the marksmanship, but to see Zen discipline in action with archery. For all the temples I’ve visited, I’ve seen very little practice or monk ceremonies. Watching the archery is a treat I savor.

Understanding that the monk archers do not wish to have an audience watching them, I continue exploring the complex, walking slowly, taking in all of the buildings and surrounding gardens and forest. I come across an enclave that I can enter, so I remove my shoes and enter. Just inside the threshold, there is a room with a video playing. It is a short documentary of the monks’ lives in the monastery. From sutra chanting to noodle slurping, the video certainly paints the life of a monk as regimented and simple. Even the act of eating is imbued with zazen and ritual. The monks eat in total silence, with the same slow, smooth motions as the archers I saw earlier. The video turns to black and begins again.

I explore the rest of the building and find a worship hall slightly more decorated than the others. The walls are lined with the portraits and names of former heads of Engaku-ji. A large taiko drum stands in the corner, and several skinny scrolls of artwork line another wall. Out behind this worship room, I come to a deck with a view of a simple garden. A thin, raked rock garden lines the edge of the building, extending from underneath the deck. The rocks meet a strip of well cut grass before quickly descending into a pond. I sit and enjoy the view for a few minutes.

I continue up the left side of the temple complex. A lake lays to the left of me, and a larger stone wall guides me on my right. I move through the complex, catching site of several buildings that are currently in use. In front of one gate, I can barely catch the sound of chanting monks. I come to a head in the complex where I cannot continue forward. I turn back and go around the parallel path on the other side of the complex, working my way down. On the way I come across White Deer Cave. This cave supposedly the site where the founder of Engakuji gave a sermon so enlightening that even deer came to the cave to listen. This incident is similar to a famous story of the historical Buddha, who once spoke and attracted not only deer, but birds and reptiles and all manner of creature to him in order to discover the truth about enlightenment.

Finally, I come to a staircase that begs to be climbed. I climb the steep steps, and halfway up find a monk sweeping the steps. I pass by him and make my way to the top. The view is modestly high, but I can see small parts of Kamakura from these steps. The view is entirely framed by trees, making the view feel as if it is a photo in a fancy Target picture frame. There is not much else here, so I climb down and exit Engaku-ji.

Tokei-ji: The Site of Divorce and Famous Graves

I cross the highway and walk along the side of a busy road until I come to Tokei-ji. Now Tokei-ji is a part of Engaku-ji. This temple is famous as being the residence of Yodoni after she divorced her husband, the emperor. During the Muromachi Period, women could not divorce their husbands without a written letter of consent from the husband. However, if a lady vowed to become a monk in a temple and stay chaste for the remainder of her life, a temple could provide the needed permission for the lady to leave her marriage. At this point, the lady served Buddha and the temple, not the husband or the family. It was a useful loophole for women to escape bad marriages, though there are recorded instances of marriages being severed and then women leaving the temple shortly afterwards.

Tokei-ji is also the site of several famous graves, including D.T. Suzuki, who was one of the biggest popularizers of Zen among Western audiences. In fact, I studied D.T. Suzuki and used several of insights in a paper I wrote in college. While I’m here, it seems only natural I thank him in person for the work he did. The complex is small, consisting of only 3 or 4 buildings, a stone path to a graveyard, and a statue of a meditating Buddha. The graves in this complex are not crowded next to one another as they were in some of the other cities. Here, the graves are large, and have plenty of space.

The most interesting grave I see is a sphere surrounded by tall stone walls. The sphere is a symbol of enlightenment, making it the perfect shape in Zen Buddhism. There is no name ascribed to the grave, only the sphere and wall. The anonymity is what strikes me with this grave. The other graves I’ve visited had names, as do the ones on either side of this unique memorial. Yet this simple marker, which lies in an expensive area to bury a loved one, doesn’t even denote a family name. Whoever is buried here, I can’t help but feel that he and his family grasped the impermanence of life and the goal of nirvana better than any philosopher or monk I’ve studied.

Daibutsu Hiking Trail

After a good walk through the graveyard, I leave the temple and work my way to the head of Daibutsu Hiking Trail. This path runs from just outside Tokei-ji directly to Daibutsu, The Great Buddha. The start of the trail is a little hard to find, but my Lonely Planet guidebook helped immensely. Find the trail, tighten the straps on my bag, take a sip of water from my Camelbac, and start the 3 km hike. The trail starts with a moderate climb to a higher elevation. At a few points early in the trail, I climb over some large boulders using both hands to pull me up. After these obstacles, the path is fairly easy, and extremely beautiful. As I continue walking, small stone markers, only 2 inches off the ground and 2 inches in width and height, mark the trail. I keep a lookout for these markers as I hike, since the trail is not always so easy to follow. The trail is almost entirely covered by the shade of the forest, making the hike much more pleasant in the humid weather. After hiking for about 25 minutes, I come across a small Shinto shrine. In a pond, turtles swim and sunbathe while visitors gawk at how cute they are. These turtles remind me of some that I saw at a Buddhist temple in Xi’an, China, who also were given their own swimming pond. I count four turtles in the pond and have to hold back the urge to give them the names of certain Renaissance painters.

I come to a fork in the path. Down a steep paved path is a second Shinto shrine, so I make short detour from my hike. I come up to a torii gate in front of a long cave. Intrigued, I walk through the cave, hunching over to make sure my head doesn't hit the roof. I come up to a few shops set up within the shrine, and see another cave outcropping. I want in and see visitors washing money in the stream. At this shrine, it is supposed that if you wash your money, it bring financial luck to you. I take out a 1000 yen note and a few hundred yen coins and use the bamboo ladles to soak the money in the stream. I take it out and let it naturally dry for a few moments before placing it back into my wallet.

I exit the cave and work my way back to the hiking trail. I walk until I see a beautiful view of the beach of Kamakura. I admire the view for a few moments and continue down the remaining 2 kilometers of the hiking trail. I get to the end of the trail, and find myself having to scale down rocks and slippery stairs slowly until I get to the edge of a slow street. I walk a little further and suddenly find the tourist center which surrounds The Great Buddha of Kamakura.

I avoid the shops for the moment and go to Kotoku-in immediately. The head of Budddha floats above the walls of the temple. I go up to pay for my ticket and notice that there is a sign banning Pokemon Go from the temple grounds. I walk through the gates and see tourists around the feet of a sitting Buddha.

I walk around the base of the the Buddha and also find some giant sandals hanging along the a wall, and realize they belong to the sitting Buddha. I explore and take my time with the Buddha, resting from my hike and soaking in the history and grandiosity of the statue.

I suddenly realize how hungry and exhausted I am, so I leave the temple and go back to downtown Kamakura. I find a good udon place and order some tempura with a cup of matcha. I eat quickly, then go back to the hostel to shower and relax. I read a few pages from a new book that I bought in Kyoto, and drift off to sleep.