This is actually the day I've been looking forward to since I originally planned this trip. I've always had a fascination with the Japanese religious and spiritual customs/ history. I just hope I can survive the day because this bronchitis that I have really saps your energy. I'm doing the right thing with tylenol, lots of liquids and green tea but I can't do the rest in bed stuff, I just have too much to do.
Our first stop in actually a castle. I didn't think they had such a thing in Japan but they do. Nijo Castle was our first stop, built in the 12 century. Leading up to the entrance/ground there was a double moat surrounding the perimeter of the property. There were also very tall walls with the tops jutting out as to keep people like Ninjas from climbing over the walls. And yes, ninjas do play a significant role in the many Japanese civil wars for over a thousand years. Nijo was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns. I'll stop here and explain what is a Shogun.
Shoguns are compared to governors in the US but with much more military expectations. A shogun would over see a territory within Japan and was responsible for all its governance. During the time of Shoguns from early 800 to as late as 1860's ran the country. Emperors also were in power and shoguns "reported" to the Emperor. The Emperor was more of a religious/spiritual overseer of the country but carried a lot of respect from the Shogun's. The Emperor had the power to remove a Shogun was from his holdings, but could also add addition lands if a Shogun from another part of the country weak. Civil wars between Shoguns were a constant happening for almost 1,000 years and property and estates were adjusted accordingly.
The Nijo Castle Shoguns lasted several generations/centuries. As mentioned previously, Shoguns seem to also be at each others throats with estates and properties always having to be militarily prepared. The Shoguns at Nijo Castle did something unique compared to other Shoguns as they always trained their females to fight. They were adept as much as the males in hand to hand combat and using a samara sword.
What are samurai? The samurai were specialized soldiers that were consider the leaders of their circle of warriors. You could compare samurai as the US would call their elite forces such as the green beret. In order to be considered an samurai, you must have collected a positive history of fighting and winning in combat. Also, samurai must follow a strict set of rules and self discipline. For instance, if you are in a battle and lose, you are expected to die in that battle. If you are captured, you would be expected to commit hair-kari, which is basically a self inflicted fatal stabbing of yourself. Now, the Nijo Samurai had a different attitude on captured warriors. They and their armies and families would be spared on condition of taking oaths of allegiance to the new Shogun. In the Nijo case, they actually would build the captured families homes within the castle itself.
Unfortunately we could not take pictures inside of the castle. The property is on over 225,000 square meters and main castle had 33 rooms and two very large Japanese Garden areas. The inside rooms were very sparse with usually just tutami mats. These mats were made from rice straws and tended to be very spongy and soft. In the hallways bird like tweeting sounds in the floors was of particular interest. These bird sounding floors in the hallways were called nightingale floors. The hallway floors were designed to make a tweeting sound like a nightingale. This was to protect the inhabitants from being snuck up on by enemies such as the ninjas. The rooms also had no false ceilings, again to keep invaders from creeping up on the inhabitants from above. While the shoguns had a wife or several wives, he did have his own private quarters away from his family and children. This separate place was to practice meditation, plan battles, accept dignitaries and to "rest". It should be notified that this private area had its own female aides as well as his own geishas. The grounds that made up the two gardens had an interesting beauty compared to a more flowery garden that one might expect. First you have to understand the definition of a Japanese Garden which must contain three basic elements: water, pine tress and stones. You can add flowers, other trees and other artistic flavors, but the big three has to be the prominent feature.
Next on our tour of shrines, castles and temples we came across The Golden Pavilion .The Golden Pavilion is exactly that, a temple primarily made of gold. Before we get to the temple, there was a magnificent collection of archways and shrines leading to the temple. What I have gathered at a lot of these sites is the Japanese liked to lead out with smaller buildings and grounds in order to lead unto the end product, in this case the Golden Temple. These grounds and temples were influenced by Zen Buddhists that had come to Japan teaching the ways of Buddha from India. There are several smaller temples within the grounds and have their own distinctions such as the god of water, god of family, etc. Japanese parents tend to come to the Golden Castle with their young children, who are decked out in traditional Japanese costume to pray to the gods for strength of body and mind for the years to come. While I was there we could see several thousand students specifically to get prayers for their end of school semester national testing.
The actual temple itself is set in a beautifully arranged area. The reason I say arranged is that the temple was to be built with the current terrain as to make it look as if it had been there all along. The outside panels are made of gold foil on lacquered panels. The pagoda, as this style is called, has five floors. The first two floors are entrances, kitchens, bathing areas, entertaining are for commoners. etc.
The third floor is the family bedrooms and private dressing areas. The fourth floor is the Shoguns or master's of the house private area for thinking, meditating, planning and personal relaxation. It would not be unusual for the master to have a staff of 4-6 just to take care of his personal needs. This staff is all female and are either aides, assts. and geisha. The wife (s) of the shogun would do the hiring of these "helpers". The top and fifth floor is an unfurnished room with no internal dividers or walls, very shiny granite or stone floors and walls made of gold, a few strategically placed tutami mat (s) and at this center of the room a prayer table, kneeling chair for praying and related furnishings.
Next on the agenda was a trip to the largest Buddha in the world, though there are claims in other countries of this title. The gateway to the temple was a huge magnificent wooden structure that oozed a presence of strength and longevity. The columns of the archway were not made of stacked wooden layers but of single large trees that had to be lugged and then shaped. The wood working within the gateway also showed signs of very meticulous artists and sculptors that are said to have taken over 40 years to complete. After going through the gateway you are instantly taken back with the enormity and size of the Buddha's temple. It took several minutes to walk up to the stairs of the temple. Once inside a very large Buddha is already in your face. There are several people lined up to burn a specially prepared incense and to pray. On the Grand Buddhas right is a smaller buddha but just as fabulous in its solid gold covering. Protecting the Buddha's are four sinister looking guards in full Samurai attire. One thing I forgot to mention is that this place is mostly a park that has these miniature sized reindeer that roam the park while being feed by children that get a special grain filled "cookie" to give to the deer.
Our last stop of the day was to be at the Kasuga Shrine which actual is a Shinto religious collection of shrines and small temples. The Shinto religion is indigenous to the Japanese people. The interesting thing is that the Shinto followers do not have a "church" or building per se to go to worship except for periodic pilgrimages to Shinto Shrines such as this one in Nara. Shintos are very much people of nature and the natural spirit of oneself, much like the Buddhist religion which has a little more structure. The unique part of Kasuga is the noticeable cement/stone lateens that start from the main entrance and are found throughout the park. Hundreds of them. The lateens are donated to the shrine by patrons, for a fee of course, and have sheets of writings on rice paper that are attached to the lamp areas at the top. These writings are request for things like money, healing, marriage, children, etc.
This park is covered with autumn foliage of red Japanese Maple and bright yellow Ginkgo trees through out the park.
Another day has come to the end and we head back to our hotel. Tomorrow is a free day until 5PM when we have to catch the train back to Tokyo. Forecast: 90% chance of rain.
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