Day 18 - In the middle of the valley

We were tacking our way across the valley floor - it really was like sailing against a strong wind, when we came upon a rest area. It was nestled in the shelter of what appeared to be the bed of an abandoned railroad. There are many of these. Japan used to be criss-crossed by numerous private lines, but with the increase in cars and trucks most of these have gone out of business. The rest areas had an open building with a little altar in it. There were benches along the sides where we could rest out of the wind. We stayed and had something to eat.

Inside under the roof there were some fantastic dragons whose purpose is apparently to protect the pilgrims who stop here.

Once we had rested we started out again. We reached the river that flowed down the center of the valley and managed to cross the bridge in spite of the wind.

Day 18 - Leaving for the next temple

As we were getting ready to leave the temple grounds, we discover groups of little statues standing on the side of a hill. They were all quite old looking, the stone was weather beaten and stained from moss, but there were fresh flowers and clothing for them.
As always there were more questions than answers. For example, what were the statues wearing and why? The bib-like things were very similar to what the sumo wrestlers wear during their first, formal entry into the arena. Sumo, however, has deep roots in Shinto. Recently the Sumo association would not let a female minister of the central government step onto the dohyo, the dirt ring (and it is circular, as opposed to boxing rings which are square) on which the bouts take place. The reason was that in the center of the ring they bury a representation of the god who protects the wrestlers and that god is female. It is believed that, if a women enters the ring, the goddess will become jealous and cause problems.
A final look at a cherry tree that was in full blossom and we headed off to the next temple, which was on the other side of a wide, flat valley.
I was beat, walking slow and not paying much attention to what was around us. Ian said that we passed some coffee shops, which I did not even notice. He did not point them out as we had a long way to go and I was walking very slow compared to most of the other days. In the flat flood plain of the valley the wind was of almost hurricane, or I guess I should say typhoon, force. It was blowing so hard that it frequently push our walking sticks to the side so that they slipped in between our legs and tripped us. Also keeping our straw hats from blowing away was a constant problem. Aside from the gradually warming weather, we knew that spring was on its way because the local farmers were preparing the rice paddies for planting. Most of them were already full of water and that meant that after one more plowing the inches high new rice plants would be planted.

Day 18 - Still at the temple

There were two buildings set to chant the Heart Sutra, so we did it at both. Many of the temples had a main hall and then a secondary hall dedicated to Kobo Daishi. We usually, but not always, chanted the Heart Sutra at each. It really depended on how crowded it was, how we felt, and how much time we thought we had. In the following two picture, I believe that the main hall is in the first picture and the secondary hall in appropriately in the second. One way that you can tell the main hall is by the roof. I do not know what to call this style but it is used on larger buildings.
This is a frontal view of the little building that I showed in a previous post. If I had a large lawn, I would love to have one of these to meditate in and as a place to study.
The next two pictures are statues that the local people have covered with clothing and other brightly colored cloth objects. I was not able to discover who the statues represent.

Day 18 - Temple # 28

The end of our trip was in sight - only three more temples to go before we start for home. I was walking really slow and felt heavy. I could not figure out whether it was because I was just wearing out or because psychological the trip was over, even with a bit more to go. Anyway after we passed around the hill with the castle and followed the hill line a little farther, we came to the next temple. As always it was up a slope. The main gate was beside a narrow road and across from a gift shop.

Inside the temple grounds there were a number of walled off compounds. This seemed to be some sort of administrative area and maybe housing for the resident monks. I realized that Spring had arrived when I saw the cherry blossoms in the inner garden.
The bell tower was on a raised platform just up the hill from the gate.
The main hall was straight ahead after you passed the bell tower. It had a very nice, pleasant feeling about it and there were few other pilgrims there so we were able to enjoy it.
This small building was either a meditation room or more likely it housed a statue or other relic. I do not know because it was closed up and there was no way to see inside.