Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY

Over the centuries, Japan’s winding history has created unusual landscapes. Temples have played a crucial role in establishing communities, and some places were forced to build a temple in an extreme location.  Today these temples await those who look for cultural adventures.  Experience the long and rough way to these temples and feel thousands of people’s foot steps from ancient times.

A temple on the cliff

It looks odd to see a little wooden temple at such an inaccessible cave on a vertical cliff.  Sanbutsu-ji Temple stands at the unimaginable location on the hillside of Mt. Mitoku in Tottori Prefecture.  At the 2,952 feet elevation, the 1300 year old wood structure sits in a small alcove on the vertical cliff.  This location was allegedly picked by an ancient Japanese Zen monk who blew three pedals to find the most sacred place to build his new Zen temple.  The legend says that the temple itself was “thrown” into this alcove on the cliff after being built somewhere else.  The temple has been designated as a national treasure for its very unusual architectural design and structure as well as the bizarre location.  After the detailed restoration in 2007, the temple became more accessible to people from the design industry, historians, culture travelers and hikers.

Sanbutsu-ji Temple prefers those practicing Zen meditation and training rather than tourists.  The only access to the temple is from the back side of the hill, and each visitor is required to sign the hiking entrance permit and wear a special robe.  Zen training starts at the beginning of the hike, as the path is very rocky and steep, and proper hiking attire and shoes are necessary.  Gear up for a unique, adventurous Zen experience at the hidden sacred temple.

Meet me at the Summit

Japan’s highest destination opens its season July 1st, and Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine also welcomes hikers that make it to the summit of Mt. Fuji.  The shrine consists of a few buildings, and the back building, usually called Okumiya, actually occupies the entire area above the mountain’s 8th station (at 10,170 feet) except for the hiking path and the meteorologist station on the summit. The shrine’s main building is at the bottom of the mountain.  The building of Okumiya (the back shrine), located by the large crater on the summit, was built in 806 by ancient Japanese people who considered the mountain sacred.  Most hikers try to reach the summit for sunrise, and the sunrise behind the shrine’s torii gate is a magnificent picture perfect view.  If the weather permits, don’t miss the shadow of Mt. Fuji:  As the sun rises at a certain level, the mountain casts a perfect shade on clouds floating below, which perfectly reflects the shape of the beautiful Fuji.  For over a century, the Okumiya of Sengen Taisha Shrine has looked down over the world and protected the lives of Japanese people.

The summit is open only in July and August, and is accessible from 4 different trails: Yoshida Entrance, Fujino-Miya Entrance, Subashiri Entrance, and Gotemba Entrance.  The top of Mt. Fuji has a large crater, and the edge of the crater is designated the summit area.  The very highest point in the country, the elevation of 12,388 feet, is on top of Kengamine, one of the small rising points on the crater rim.  For details of the summit area, go to
http://www.fuji-hongu.or.jp/sengen/english/index.html.

Beyond the Acrobatic Bridge

Mumyo Bridge is an arch-shaped stone bridge, and is worth crossing.  The stone bridge is only 18 feet long and less than 4 feet wide, and you’ll get chills when you look down from the small bridge, from such an elevation.  There is no clear explanation why they made such a small bridge without handrails over the small gap on the cliff that leads to the back side of the ancient Tennen-ji Temple.  From the bottom, this bridge looks like a small arch in heaven, and there are countless ancient stone Buddha statues all the way up to the temple.

In fact, this is only part of the mysterious and magical world of a unique school of Japanese Buddhism from the early 8th century, which thrived in Kunisaki Peninsula of Oita prefecture in eastern Kyushu.  For the local worship tradition, people built over 60 temples on the mountain in the center of the peninsula for Zen training and meditation. To this day Peninsula thrives as the remaining ancient village of stone Buddha statues, and people still hike up the mountain making pilgrimages to all the ancient Zen temples.  The Peninsula is known for its mysterious and magical landscapes, which are so different from the wooden structures that are common in Japan.  The tallest stone Buddha sculpture, Kumano-Magai Buddha, represents the area’s mysterious looking remains; the 26 foot high rock carving sits on top of steps of randomly piled stones, which were allegedly piled overnight by a demon.

——- Nori Akashi : Public Relations Manager at the New York Office of JNTO