On May 5th, I spent the morning exploring Nara. This city was Japan's first capital for 75 years, after which it moved to Kyoto (the capital, that is, not Nara) until 1868 when the capital moved to Tokyo. I walked through the Nara-koen (park) which has something like 1200 deer/Buddhist messengers of god, they are considered national treasures and you can buy shika-sembei (dear biscuits) to feed the little beggars.
They didn't seem much like national treasures to me, I bought some deer biscuits and was immediately surrounded by deer who were hanging around the biscuit vendor, and much to the amusement of all the people watching, one butted me in the but with its nose and made me yelp. After high-tailing it out of range of the infernal deer, I went over to the Todai-ji temple. It has a huge Buddha statue, one of the largest bronze statues in the world (16 metres tall, 437 tonnes of bronze and 130 kg of gold), it's the largest wooden building in the world and it has some fun activities too.
There is a hole in one of the pillars of the building, and it's believed that since the hole is the same size as the Buddha's nostril, that if you can fit through it, you are ensured enlightenment. I had a look at the hole and decided that enlightenment would cost me about 70 pounds and possibly some kind of surgical rearrangement of my shoulders and pelvis. It might have been fun to try, but then I imagined news crews and rescue teams and chain saws cutting through the support structures of the largest wooden building in the world trying to get my fat ass out of Buddha's nostril and decided that enlighenment could wait.
The activity I did participate in, was a statue where you rub the Buddha's body and you rub the corresponding part of yourself and whatever ailment you have in that part of your body with go away. So I rubbed it's foot and then my foot, tossed some money in the receptacle and went away feeling pretty satisfied. Unfortunately, my foot actually worsened as the day went on and it left me wondering if I rubbed the left foot of the Buddha and the right foot of myself or something, I just must have done it wrong!
They didn't seem much like national treasures to me, I bought some deer biscuits and was immediately surrounded by deer who were hanging around the biscuit vendor, and much to the amusement of all the people watching, one butted me in the but with its nose and made me yelp. After high-tailing it out of range of the infernal deer, I went over to the Todai-ji temple. It has a huge Buddha statue, one of the largest bronze statues in the world (16 metres tall, 437 tonnes of bronze and 130 kg of gold), it's the largest wooden building in the world and it has some fun activities too.
There is a hole in one of the pillars of the building, and it's believed that since the hole is the same size as the Buddha's nostril, that if you can fit through it, you are ensured enlightenment. I had a look at the hole and decided that enlightenment would cost me about 70 pounds and possibly some kind of surgical rearrangement of my shoulders and pelvis. It might have been fun to try, but then I imagined news crews and rescue teams and chain saws cutting through the support structures of the largest wooden building in the world trying to get my fat ass out of Buddha's nostril and decided that enlighenment could wait.
The activity I did participate in, was a statue where you rub the Buddha's body and you rub the corresponding part of yourself and whatever ailment you have in that part of your body with go away. So I rubbed it's foot and then my foot, tossed some money in the receptacle and went away feeling pretty satisfied. Unfortunately, my foot actually worsened as the day went on and it left me wondering if I rubbed the left foot of the Buddha and the right foot of myself or something, I just must have done it wrong!
Later on when I got to Kyoto, I met up with Peter MacIntosh, the Geisha expert and he took me and two other women on a tour of two of Kyoto's Geisha districts. Peter said something pretty apt about buying fortunes at shrines after I told him about buying 7 bad fortunes in a row. He said, "Sure you can buy good fortune in Japan, but the shrines are the only ones getting lucky." So true. The Geisha tour was amazing. Peter knows everyone in the Geisha districts, he showed us tea houses and introduced us to Geishas. He moved to Japan 12 years ago and his wife is a former Geisha (you have to retire when you get married, but you can come back if you get divorced). Now his wife works at a salon where the Geishas get their hair done with the only male Geisha hair dresser ever. I read a really interesting essay that he wrote about the whole thing, and he explained that Geisha hair dressers used to all be women and they were expected to not marry and remain virgins their entire lives. Now there are only 5 or so left in the world and their average age is something like 70, and even in those conditions this younger man, found it difficult to break into the business. The hairstyles are so beautiful and intricate - it made me feel that I don't put nearly enough effort into my hair and I put more effort into my hair than a lot of women.
1 comment:
Good thing you did not try to fit through that hole...fatty :)
Kyoto was one of my fav places. There is this crazy bartender who is obsessed with the Rolling Stones and the Philosophers Walk is rather pretty.
Ash
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