Saturday, September 22, 2001 (click to see all posts from this day)
|
Preliminaries
My friend Shie says there's kind of a proverbial idea in Japan: that Winter comes "rain by rain," each storm changing the weather one step closer to Winter. Today it's officially Autumn, and it feels like it.
The typhoon blew itself out before morning, leaving behind a gorgeous day: clear blue skies with cotton candy clouds, cool and breezy--that rare perfect day in Japan. A day for walking.
Too bad I didn't have a chance to do much.
I went off on a futile quest for shoes. I can easily find shoes in Japan that are long enough for my feet, but seldom are they wide enough or deep enough (top to bottom). I spent hours in various stores, and ended up buying a cheap pair of sandals no more comfortable than the ones I had.
It sounds like I'm complaining. I'm not. I had a great time, experienced top-flight service like only Japanese department stores can provide (even calling competitors to see if a certain style and size were available), walked several kilometers in beautiful Shizuoka on a fine day, had many funny encounters with everybody from high school kids to old ladies--a great day.
It was so late, though, that I considered going back to my room and working on the home page. I had a good excuse, didn't I? But I couldn't. I just had to walk. It's in my blood now.
Into Shimada, Station #23 on the Old Tokaido
So finally, at 3 p.m., I was on the trail again from Rokugo station. Late, yeah, but I was busy all day! (Besides, I walked the entire Tokaido today. Read on.)
As I wrote yesterday, I stopped about 30 minutes from Shimada. Sure enough, by 3:30 I blew into town.
Why didn't I try to copy Hiroshige's print? Well, frankly, I think he fell into a rut along in here. No fewer than 19 of his prints (in the Hoeido edition) show people crossing water, whether by bridge, boat, or ford. (Your count may differ.) This is not surprising; there is a lot of water to cross.
But Shimada is station #23, and he shows crossings for #19, 23, 24, 26, and 28! That's 50% of the 10 prints ranging on either side of this one. So I went with the tanuki.
However, as you'll see below, I, too, got caught up in the spirit of crossing.
Hiroshige's Tokaido: Shimada, Station #23 on the Old Tokaido
 This print and the next one (Kanaya) show crossings of the Oigawa River. One of my guidebooks (Tokaido, by Tomikichiro Tokuriki) says that when the Oi was in flood it was impossible to cross. Records indicate that one winter it was closed for 28 days. Tokuriki adds that crossing fees were set by the water level, below the chest being cheapest, at the chest next, between the armpits and the shoulders the most. Above the shoulders and traffic was halted. |
Daizenji
I had a long, wonderful talk with the priest's wife, about religion, culture, lifestyle, etc. It was fun switching back-and-forth rapidly between English and Japanese. I reflect on this more in today's journal.
By the way, the priest at this temple has a "day job," so his wife keeps a number of pre-signed stamp pages on hand. This is a common practice in various parts of the country. I wonder why they didn't have any at Chogenji in Mariko day before yesterday?
The Oi River Kawagoshi
Now, here's where I became captivated by this river crossing thing. As one approaches the river, the kawagoshi--riverside area--is largely intact as a historic park. The area used to have at least 10 inns, and several offices for the transportation business; some of these are still there.
It gave me a strange thrill of anticipation to be walking toward the river on the authentic-looking street, instead of on a busy highway leading to a bridge. (That was a bit to the north.)
The Oi River (with a mini-Tokaido)
When I reached the actual riverside, I got another treat.
Back on September 17th, I visited a temple called Shouinji. On the Words and Pictures page, I mentioned that "Many temples have mini-pilgrimage circuits. These are part of 88 statues representing the 88 temples of Shikoku." This deserves elaboration. A temple will set up a series of statues--at Shouinji, for example, 88--each one representing one temple on a pilgrimage circuit. Wannabe pilgrims can then visit one place and gain merit for having done the entire circuit.
Well, at the riverside in Shimada, one can do--the entire Tokaido! The religious idea of substitutionary merit has been applied to the old road. There are 55 plaques with Hiroshige's pictures, and 55 stones engraved with haiku, as well as 55 signs showing the haiku in clear writing. So even though I started at 3:00 today, I did the whole Tokaido!
--------
After a mosey through a quiet neighborhood, I started climbing toward Kanaya train station. Tomorrow's walk promises several saka (slopes) and some ishidatami (stone paving), as well as a stone that weeps. Tune in.
| ← Previous Day | Back to Old Tokaido Guide | Next Day → |
Posted October 1, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment