Koyasan in December was very calm. There were few visitors and I could hardly believe the crowd in Summer.
Thousand of gravestones were filled with moss and a lot of big cedars have been making a tranquil, still space for a long time.I wonder how many years these cedars are living. Their diameter were pretty large. There were a lot of warrior's tombstones we know. While some of them were alive, they might have fought each. Now they are resting in the same site.
 |
| Near Okunoin |
Matuo Basho came here and sang a haiku that "父母の しきりにこいし 雉子の声” (my translation: When I listen to a pheasant crying, I miss my parent. If this translation is error, please correct this.) This is included in 笈の小文. This is based on "山鳥の ほろほろと鳴く 声聞けば 父かとぞ思ふ 母かとぞ思ふ”(my translation: When I listen to a copper pheasant crying , I take it for my parent voice. I miss my parent.) This tanka was made by
Gyoki at Mt.Yoshino. Basho might have miss his parent ,seeing gravestones,I wonder?
 |
| protecter there |
When we go though here, we come to a place that we purify our hands and mouth. And beyond a river is holy place. There is Okunoin of Kobo-daisi's mausoleum in that holy place. People comes Okunoin to place the ashes of the dead. It's dark inside the house and I could only see orange lights of countless lanterns hanging from the celling. Those silent , warm lights make atmosphere of esoteric Buddhism. While a priest recites a sutra for an hour, my eyes were used to that darkness then suddenly I became to be able to see a picture of
Kobo-daishi on the wall in front of us. I was a little bit surprised and I prayed its picture irresistibly. It seems like a magic. I wonder how people think of it in the old days.
 |
| Kobo-daisi |
A priest in
Yakusiji explained one day that they say about
wabi-sabi when they say about temples in Kyoto ,on one hand ,temples in Nara are standing heavily, peacefully at big site and they don't say about wabi-sabi. That reminded me that number of suicide in Nara prefecture is the lowest in Japan.(by a magazine "President") Things in Nara are not so nervous, I wonder? If so, it's good for me to live in Nara.
By the way,how about temples in Koyasan? Koyasan was founded by Kobo-daisi and it has accepted people in all sects or all classes and has developed as people's spiritual home or rest and now became a Buddhism capital of
Singonsyu, according to a guide. Surely I felt somehow elusive tense because thousands of spirits are resting in the grave and a repository. May their soul rest in Heaven.
 |
| three cedars connect each other |
