Nikko (日興) - Part 1

This weekend, I decided to head to the city of Nikko. I think some back story on Nikko is required so you can fully appreciate all you are about to witness. Gather round the glowing computer screen, get your hot chocolate or white wine, and read on.

Our main character is a man named Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was the "most powerful man" of all Japan in the 17th century. He deserves this title because:

1. He founded the Tokugawa shogunate during what is known as the "Edo period" of Japan. "Edo period" is Japanese for "time when Japan prepared for modernization and industrialization". Remember my earlier post about the Meiji temple? Go on, I'll wait for you to go back and re-read it. Back? Okay... well, the Edo period was essential to set Japan up for the Meiji Restoration.

2. When he died, he asked to be enshrined in a temple in Nikko to become the guardian of Japan. So he became a gongen, as you do. Gongen is sort of a combination of Shinto and Buddhist deities (kami and buddhas)... so this dude was deified! What was he protecting Japan against, exactly? Demons, naturally. According to fusui (feng shui in Japanese), the northeast is an "ominous direction", sorta like a demon portal gateway thing. Nikko is considered to be the demon gateway into Tokyo. Hence, the need to protect Japan by being enshrined in Nikko. Catching what I'm throwing ya?

Despite all this, he never actually lived in the city. Crazy, right?! Nikko was founded by the priest Shodo, after a dream where the Myojo-tenshi (God of the Stars) told him, “Civilize mountainous Nikko after you have studied Buddhism.” So... Priest Shodo did just that. His journey will be discussed later.

Okay, now that we have the history out of the way, on to the real stuff! Nikko is designated a World Heritage Site because of the historical importance of the shrines there.

If you ever come, I stayed overnight in the lovely Nikko Station Hotel Classic. They had an amazing brunch in the morning; it's a little pricey but I think worth it.

My first stop was the 27 meter-long Shinkyo Bridge, also known as Yamasuge-no-Jabashi, which means "Bridge of Snakes with Wild Sedges”. And before you ask me why it’s called that, let me tell you. In the year 767 (to be exact), the priest Shodo Shonin and ten of his disciples were attempting to explore the Nikko mountain area but were stopped dead in their tracks by the raging Daiyo River. Unable to cross and complete his destiny, Shodo prayed and prayed. The god Jinja Daio heard him, and appeared with a red snake and a blue snake which he threw across the river. They twined together to form the bridge, and the yamasuge (wild sedges) growing from their backs ensured that Shodo and his followers were able to cross without slipping. The bridge in its current form was built in 1636. To quote to its descriptive sign, “establishment of Shinkyo is full of mystery, but is respected as a sacred bridge.” It is also the oldest drawbridge style bridge in Japan, and only the shogun or the emperor (along with their retinues) was allowed to cross it – but only after dismounting. Today, for a measly 200 yen, I crossed it. I guess that means I’m a shogun!

At the end of the bridge is the Jinja’o-do Sacred Hall… Jinja, if you were JUST paying attention, is the god who helped the Shodo cross the river. Today, people believe this god has a power for “bridging and match-making.”

Thankfully, I had done my research prior to coming to Nikko, so I knew about the “hidden” stuff. Seriously guys, the next little section is pretty hard to find. I had to walk through random neighborhoods! My search was for the Kanman Path, which is known for the Kanman-ga-fuchi abyss and the Narabi-Jizo. Wha??

Well, let me explain… The Kanman-ga-fuchi abyss was formed by the lava from Mt. Nantai (a nearby mountain… duh). It got its name because Priest Kokai thought the stream sounded like the word “Kanman”. That’s the last word of a sutra, or Buddha bible. Personally, I didn’t hear it, but maybe that’s because I’m not Japanese. A haiku was even written about the river (Daiya river) by the Emperor Taisho.

Sleeves were wet by the spray at 

the River Daiya. 

Cold moonlight night comes over the shore.

Where I took the picture of the abyss is called the Reihi-Kaku Divine Tower, so called because the priests would light a holy fire in it and pray for world peace. This was built in 1654 by the priest Kokai, and still no word of world peace. :( It’s called a tower, but really it was like a little gazebo thing.

Off to the left, you can see what I’m about to talk about next – see the red hats??

The Narabi-Jizo (also known as the Bake-Jizo) is a line of stone statues of Jizo. You remember Jizo from Kamakura, don’t you? Sure you do. Well, there’s about 70-something statues of him in a row, right by the abyss. These statues were carved by the disciples of Archbishop Tenkai. You ready for some really creepy stuff? Apparently, legend says that the statues change places from time to time, and a visitor will never see them in the same order twice. THAT’S NOT ALL! It’s also said that if you count them on the right, and count them on the left (AKA, going back and forth), the number… will… never… be… the… same… AHHH! I didn’t feel like myth busting today so I didn’t bother counting.

Now on to the not-so-hidden stuff. There are a collection of five temples in this one area, and if you’re smart, you find someone selling a pass for all five for 1,000 yen. If you’re dumb, like me, you just pay the entry fee for each temple… which obviously costs more. Ugh.

The first of five temples I went to is called the Rin-no-ji Temple, or the Taiyuin Temple. Enshrined here is the third successive Shogun Imetsu Tokugawa, who wrote in his will, “I will serve for Ieyasu even after I die.” Apparently that was girl-talk for, “build me a shrine next to Ieyasu’s shrine”… good thing his successor, Shogun Ietsuna, got that. The buildings face Toshogu Shrine (where Ieyasu is enshrined), indicating Iemitsu’s deep respect for Ieyasu.

The first part is called the Nioumon Gate, so called because of its two guardians (Misshaku-kongo and Naraen-kongo), which are called Niou. I like Wikipedia’s description of them: “wrath-filled and muscular guardians of Buddha.”

This one is Misshaku-kongo… looking all wrath-filled and muscular. *wink*

After that was the Nitenmon gate, which was unfortunately undergoing restoration when I went to visit. Inside I could still see the two gods called Nitenmon (or Deva Kings). They guard over one of the four cardinal directions. On the back were the Fujin (god of wind) and Raijin (god of thunder).

This is Jikokuten. It guards the east direction. Check out that hand on the hip... attitude. 

Koumokuten  - It despises perverse people (or at least, sees through evil). I would think it must hate me, though thankfully that angry glare is directed toward someone else.  It guards the west direction.

Fujin – God of Wind. It has a bag of wind, heck yeah, and four fingers to signify each direction.

Raijin – God of Thunderstorms, carrying drums and drumsticks (how appropriate). It has three fingers to signify past, present and future.

After that, yet another gate! This one had four female devils, guarding each direction again. You know how it is.

I think she's single so if any of you want me to set you up, let me know!

And finally, the Karamon Gate, so called because Kara means “Chinese Style.”

Somehow I was an idiot and didn’t continue further, but inside were apparently some interesting things that I won’t go into detail because I didn’t see them. Sigh.

Leaving behind that temple, I made my way to Futarasan Shrine. Apparently “Futara-san” is another name for Mt. Nantai, and was created to worship the mountain gods (Japanese old timers believed that mountains controlled important weather phenomenon and water to the river, which in turn would affect their lives).

My favorite part of it was the “Ghost Lantern”. Apparently long ago the flame in the lantern used to act strangely… fearing ghosts, the samurai warriors would attack the lantern! Another explanation is that the flame acted weirdly because a flying squirrel was licking the lantern oil. Either explanation seems weird to me.

Dings from the swords of the samurai. 

Also here is the Futara Spiritual Spring… this healing water promises to cure eye diseases and also makes a good sake. Despite the sign pleading us not to throw coins into the spring, you can still note the coins. You were allowed to taste some of the water coming from a spout off to the side. I braved whatever endemic water parasites are out there to try it myself… eh.

Leading up to the main shrine (Toshogu Shrine) is a tori with a special stairway that is designed to make you think it’s longer than it actually is.

On to the main attraction! The very shrine where Ieyasu himself is enshrined!

... Just kidding. This post was so big that I'm going to do a two-parter. The rest of it to be done by the next weekend!