A Pilgrimage in Japan by Joan D. Stamm

Author:Joan D. Stamm [Stamm, Joan D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mantra Books
Published: 2018-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Even with a heavy karma

Your suffering may be relieved

If you offer prayers

At the Junteido

There is hope

Kami Daigoji – Temple 11

Women in the Forbidden Zone

The word “daigo” in Sanskrit roughly means “spiritual bliss,” but historically, whether you experienced rapture on Mt. Daigo or not depended on your gender: most females (except for a handful of aristocrats) were banned from this mountain for over 1,300 years. These days, only Mt. Sanjo in the Yoshino-Kumano National Park region still bans women (although feminists have been known to breach the restriction). Even so, once we began our trek to Upper Daigoji I felt that perhaps women still weren’t entirely welcome on this mountain. The male hikers seemed a bit unfriendly, odd on a hike in Japan where everyone greets each other with “Ohayo gozaimasu!” (Good morning!) or “Konnichiwa!” (Good afternoon!). None of our guide books or web information mentioned the rather frosty attitude of men, and it was the last thing on our radar screen. Rather, the strenuous nature of the hike, the weather, and our health concerns occupied our thoughts instead.

The trek to the top of Mt. Daigo is only 1.8 miles, but with an elevation gain of nearly 1,500 feet the ascent promised to be steady and steep. Our guidebook described it thus: “Unless you’re a regular mountain hiker, the path to Kami Daigoji is nothing less than a draining journey, requiring concentration and strength in equal.” Consequently, we thought it best to time our hike with favorable weather conditions. Already late November, good weather became less and less predictable. Coupled with my procrastination when it came to anything worrisome or frightening, and my previous heart condition, the thought of hiking to Upper Daigo Temple gave me serious pause. Five years ago, I had come close to having a heart attack due to a semi-blocked artery. Two stents later, and thirty-five pounds lighter, I felt healthy and fit, but never confident whether another blocked artery would sneak up on me. Visions of being a medical emergency at the top of a mountain with my poor sister trying to cope with the situation in her rudimentary Japanese plagued my thoughts. Although dying on pilgrimage had a history of auspiciousness, I didn’t relish the idea.

Gwen had her own fears: a painful ankle injury that flared up occasionally and a habit of tripping. Her nightmare looked like pitching headfirst down a long flight of stone stairs and landing at the bottom with severe concussion. Neither of us shared these worries until later.

Needless to say, we left Kami Daigoji to the end of our trip, partly because of our fears, and partly because we kept waiting for guaranteed good weather. Our chosen day promised to be sunny and mild, and so, fortified with several deep breaths, drinking water and lunch, we headed out.

A day hike from Kyoto, Mt. Daigo and the Shingon-Daigo Buddhist temple complex is an ancient pilgrimage site and training ground for present day yamabushi: mountain ascetics who practice Shugendo (The Way of Acquiring Spiritual Power).

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