Birthing Buddha
...written on 04.13.04, @ 9:48 a.m.
Mon April 12, 2004
Ok, so I'm back from spring break . . . uh, ten days ago. And did you know I have had some nasal congestion/coughing/ear ache affliction for over a month now? Perhaps you are amazed that I have been to no less than three new places in that many weeks? hee.
Once again, sorry, I haven't been good at updating lately. On my spring break I went to Tanigumi village for two days. I stayed at a tradtional Japanese inn right in front of Kazen-ji temple. I took over 100 pictures, so getting some of those in shape for posting will be rather labor intensive, so let's wait a while on those.
Min and I went to Meji Mura, which is a collection of almost 100 buildings built in Japan during that era of extreme western influence. Those buildings (from all over Japan) were doomed to demolition before someone got the bright idea of taking them down and transporting them to a place where they could be saved for posterity.
Yesterday Min and I went to see the birthplace of Japanese Buddhism, Enryaku-ji Temple at Mt. Hiei-zan in Otsu, Japan. The temple grounds themselves are vast and lush with large pines and cedars and cherry trees just off their peak bloom. I bought a little souvenir bell, a mini replica of the one at the temple, that when struck, sent a sonorous gong through the trees.
At first I thought the bell was on a timer or perhaps had a newly shorn monk at the rope whose duty it was to swing the wooden log to home every thirty seconds. Then when I rounded the bend and the bell came into view, I saw that it was a line of visitors, patiently waiting their turn to throw coins into the wooden box in front of the bell, that were grasping the rope and making the wonderful sound.
Souvenirs at temples and shrines tend to be the same. There are prayer and good luck charms galore. Many depict one of the 12 animals of the Chinese celestial/horoscope system which the Japanse also use.
Min and I each had a bowl of unsatisfying noodles and then went back to his car to rest after our jaunt around the temples. As we are wont to do, we talked about many things as the parking lot emptied, leaving us the last ones to go.
Going down the mountain offered spectacular views of renegade cherry trees tucked into clumps of greenery as well as the ones in rows along the side of the road, with blossoms that looked like buttery popcorn when the sun shone upon them. We could also see Lake Biwa embraced by the cities of Otsu and Hikone and others.
I declared myself to still be hungry so we stopped at a big entertainment complex on the lake. It housed a bowling alley, game center, karoke, cinemas, media stores and restaurants. We had another lackluster dinner at an Italian restaurant and then went for an hour of karoke. I think our rousing rendition of Honky Tonk Women by the Rolling Stones got us booted a little early. My favorite song turned out to be You Are My Destiny by Paul Anka.
Another day, another dollar.
Sorry for the hodge-podge, but really, if I lost my grip on perfectionism, I would update more.
Last night Min came over for dinner. I cooked chicken cacciatore. Yummers!
Speaking of food and mirth with Min, the other day at his place we were talking and he felt a hunger pang. He grabbed a convenience store cabbage burger that he had bought and offered a bite to me. I declined, so he wolfed it down all by himself. Later, as we contemplated what to do for lunch, he said he was feeling a little strange. I asked him what the matter was and he said "I think it's heartboil."
And the other other day when he was over, we were sitting in my kitchen and he had his feet in my lap. I noticed a peculiar smell and thought it quite odd as Min is exceptionally hygenic, but the smell persisted even after he had gone. I was perplexed until I looked at the package of shitake mushrooms on the kitchen table. I had bought them as a souvenir for my Japanese teacher, but she cancelled our class last week. I thought the mushrooms would last, but regretfully that wasn't the case.
I had 133 pictures developed yesterday. So illustrations will be coming later.