Day 3:
We woke up early and had a good breakfast before heading to Kochi-jo Castle. This is a fairly nice castle but paled in comparison to the one we visited in Imabari. I was happy to leave the city and head towards the mountains again. We drove from Kochi to the Oboke Gorge area. This gorge is the biggest in Japan. We took a road that went along the gorge and at times looked down several thousand feet to the river below. The area is very rural and most people that we saw there were Japanese tourists and the occasional pilgrim. I noticed many outfitters that offered rafting trips down the river but we didn’t have time. We took a small side trip to Kazura -ohashi. This is a vine bridge that is very old and stretches across the gorge. I walked across the bridge and was a little afraid because it swayed heavily over the treacherous rocky water below. We saw Koinoburi stretched across the gorge at points. Koinoburi are banners hung to commemorate the coming of age of the local boys. I have seen these frequently in Japan but never so elaborate and beautiful as in this region. I was told that the area villages have a very long tradition of Koinoburi and the boys sometimes work several months on their banners in hopes that their efforts will be rewarded with good luck as men. Leaving the Oboke gorge area was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on. The road that runs along the gorge is comparable to two great mountain roads in America, Trail Ridge Road in north-central Colorado, and the Skyline Drive that runs through the Shenandoah Park in Virginia. The weather was beautiful and the small towns along the way were constructed on the mountainsides, making for a very picturesque scene.

After a few hours we reached Kompira-san. Kompira-san is the most famous Shinto Shrine in Shikoku and one of the most important in Japan. I cannot possibly begin to explain how amazing this shrine is. To get to the Shrine, there is a huge stairway that has over 1400 steps. The sides of the climb are lined with Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Trees and small pagodas. Kompira-san is a shrine that is dedicated to the sea. Since ancient times, mariners have went there seeking blessings for their voyages and protection from the wrath of the sea. Even today, ship owners will bring pictures of their boats, from small fishing boats to huge Oceanic vessels, to place before the shrine. This tradition is very old. One Japanese person told me that the Japanese Navy achieved surprise at Pearl harbor because the efficacy of the Shrine’s protection. I refrained from asking what happened later in the war as American war ships decimated the Japanese Navy.

There is a tendency in the West to respect Buddhism and think of Shinto as a quaint relic of Japan’s superstitious past. This is a distorted understanding because the role that Shinto has played in Japan’s history and even today is immeasurable. More than any place I went to in Japan, I felt a spiritual presence at Kompira-san. I noticed that as one passed through the main Torii (gate) to the temple, the air was different. Where on the outside of the gate, it was warm and dry, within the shrine’s grounds was etheral, wet, and cool. The change was so significant that you could stand at the gate and see the difference. As soon as I walked through the gate I noticed moss growing over everything and a thick hanging fog that enveloped the area. It was an environment that probably suited the sailors that have come here for over 12 centuries. As I walked up the stairs toward the main shrine, I could not help but notice the energy in the air and moisture that coated everything. The change was so dramatic it overwhelmed me. I have never experienced a place that felt so spiritually important and charged with power. While I don’t understand a lot about Shinto, I must admit that there is something significant and powerful at work. The idea that Shinto is merely idle superstition is totally wrong. As one Japanese person explained to me, “Buddhism will help us improve our existence but Shinto is about the spirit of life within all things”. In contemporary Japan, the two religious systems are so entwined that they merge to form the unique web that is Japanese culture.

In nearly aspects of Japanese culture, elements of both systems can be recognized. I have never met a Japanese person that professed belief in one of the religious systems or follows only one’s lessons exclusively. Just as I saw many of the Shikoku Buddhist pilgrims at Kompira-san, it is normal for Japanese people to frequent Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples. The imagery used is also blended. You can see Buddhist images at a Shrine and vice-versa. It is important to remember that Buddhism is an import to Japan, from China and Korea. Shinto is uniquely Japanese. I believe it is because Shinto that the Japanese people have been able to hold on to their roots so well and manage to stay in close touch with the natural world. It seems that Japanese people are more in tune with the changes of seasons and natural patterns of climate, weather, and geologic activity than their counterparts in Europe and America. Perhaps the reason that Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the developed world and also among the most forested and least environmentally damaged.

The visit to Kompira-san was the biggest highlight of my visit to Shikoku. Though it is off the beaten path and infrequently a place that foreigners visit, I felt closer to the heart of Japan than I have anywhere else in Japan. The etheral feel of the Shrine resonated deeply within me and I know that I was in a very special place.

After leaving Kompira-san, we visited another castle. Maraugame-jo castle was small and not especially beautiful. It was similar to Matsuyama-jo in that it was high up on a mountain overlooking the town. We then had a fantastic dinner in Takamatsu at a Yakinikku place. Yakinikku is a style of Japanese cooking that is familiar to Americans because of Japanese steakhouse type places. Yakinikku means “grilled meat”. Unlike in America, where chefs dazzle and entertain as they cook, Japanese places have a grill built in to the table and you cook yourself as a hostess brings strips of beef, chicken, octopus, and other seafood, along with the standard side dishes of rice, bean sprouts, miso soup, and other vegetables. These places are often all you can eat and I always eat a lot of meat, a luxury in Japan.

It was our last night in Shikoku so Tsukamoto and I took a long walk around the city and talked a lot. I like him very much. He is kind, generous, and patient. The time we spent together in Shikoku was awesome because I was able to see him relax. The Japanese work place is a stressful place because of the many social conditions pertaining to the strictly ranked hierarchy. Because I stand outside the system of rank due to my status as a foreigner, I think Tsukamoto is able to be more casual and relaxed with me than is usual for him when interacting with co-workers.