And I start with the one site I planned to see before we got to Yokosuka (work with me... the rest are by accident)! Above is the picture of the famous statue (famous in Japan, anyway) of Hachikō, the most loyal dog of which I have EVER heard. Hachikō, an Akita Inu, would accompany his master to Shibuya Station every morning and return every afternoon at 4 o’clock, faithfully awaiting his return – a tradition that began sometime in 1924 and continued until May 1925, when the professor died unexpectedly of a stroke while at work. That afternoon Hachikō began his private vigil for a master who would never return.
Friends of the professor took Hachikō in and offered him a comfortable life, but he routinely escaped – at first in order to search for his master at their former home but when he apparently realized that was futile, he instead began returning to Shibuya Station every afternoon at 4 o’clock, eagerly searching the crowds for his master. Being pitied by some and praised by others, the dog became famous in October 1932 when a newspaper reported on it under the headline, "Story of a beloved old dog. Several years eagerly awaiting the return of his now-deceased master." Hachikō became a national sensation. In March of 1935, after 10 long years, Hachikō’s wait finally ended – he was found dead on a street near the station where he in now immortalized.
The picture above is of the second statue of Hachikō (located right outside of Hachikō Exit), erected on August 15th 1945 to replace the original, melted for the war effort in 1944. The kanji inscribed on the pedestal translates to Faithful Dog Hachikō.
Here I stand beneath the iconic Great Buddha of Kamakura (or Kamakura Daibutsu). Kamakura, for those who don’t know (I say this as if I knew before I went there) was the home of the first Shogun (who established his reign in 1185) – think of it as the original Edo (now Tokyo). As such, Kamakura has some pretty incredible sites (including the Buddha!). I honestly didn't know the place existed before we past it on the train ride in... Meg recognized the name as she had been there before and highly recommended I go... not one to ignore her recommendations, I was NOT let down!
This Buddha, which is the second largest in Japan, was originally located inside a temple which was washed away in a 1498 tsunami (the bay is about a half mile away). It stands just under 44 feet high and measures just under 30 feet from knee to knee. The thumbs have a 2 foot 9.5 inch circumference (not sure why anyone would care, but it is apparently SO important that they posted that information nearby).
You guessed it – above is a picture of Buddha’s shoes… no I’m not kidding… I guess I should have gotten picture with someone standing by, but I’d guess them to be around 6 feet long… can you imagine the size of his socks???
Above is a picture of Hasedera Temple, also located in Kamakura (it’s actually just down the road from the Buddha). The grounds that house this temple is probable the most gorgeous I’ve seen yet (not bad since I literally stumbled upon the temple by shear accident). Inside the building above houses the Temple’s main attraction which is two statues of the eleven-headed Kannon, carved from the same tree trunk - one being about 6 feet tall (that’s just an estimate) and the other being 30.1 feet tall (according to Wikipedia… just kidding). The larger of the two was thrown into the sea with a prayer that it would reappear to save the people. Fifteen years later in 736 on the night of June 18, it washed ashore at Nagai Beach on the Miura Peninsula not far from Kamakura, sending out rays of light as it did. The statue was then brought to Kamakura and a temple was constructed to honor it.
The view above is one of the reasons I thought the Temple ground were so gorgeous… In the center of the picture you can see my travel partner for a day… Mike Doyle, the husband of a doctor Meg works with.
In a nearby cave there are thousands of statues inside Benten-kutsu Cave… just trying to see if you are still awake… there are actually only about two dozen statues of an eight armed Benzaiten (a sea goddess and the only female among the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan) and others.
Above is a picture of the wall and moat outside the Emperor’s palace. The ancient castle was destroyed in 1945 and the Emperor now lives in modern facilities on the grounds (an area where I was unable to go)… but the rest of the site is a gargantuan park that I enjoyed touring AND stumbled upon the Matsuno-o-roka Corridor… the site where after an alleged insult in 1701, a daimyo (the Japanese equivalent to a feudal lord) attempted to kill the issuer of vicious insults (who was a real jackass, as the story goes… although they use a different adjectives in the official story, Chūshingura). When he failed, the Shogun ordered him to commit seppuku (where an individual would disembowel himself). The insulter was not punished. Of the over three hundred samurai who served the dead daumyo, 47 swore to uphold the honor of their master. Knowing they would be followed by agents of the Shogun, the masterless (or ronin) samurai took jobs unbecoming of their stature in society and plotted their revenge for nearly two years. Finally, once the opportunity arose, they infiltrated the house of the insulter, offered him the opportunity to disembowel himself and when he couldn’t (can’t figure out why), they beheaded him. For their deeds, the Shogun ordered the samurai to disembowel themselves (I’m not making this up), which they eagerly accepted and were then buried alongside their master.
The story of the 47 ronin samurai is a national favorite in Japan and told in the 1998
Robert De Niro flick, Ronin – which is where I first came to know the story. I thought it pretty exciting to stumble across THE place where the story began… If you are confused, don’t worry… this is my favorite example to use when attempting to explain the difference between the Eastern train of thought and our own.
Above is the opening gate to the Engakuji Temple in Kamakura, which is one of the leading Zen temples in Japan. It was erected in 1282 to commiserate the second defeat of the Mongol’s attempted invasion… again, just a place I happened to stumble into… it was a heck of town…
And above is the Ohgane, which is what I think means temple bell (don’t quote me on it)… had I realized THAT was a national treasure of Japan, I would of gotten more pictures (or at least one with me in it)… such is the life of an accidental tourist…
And, just to round out your tour of the area, I am closing with a picture of a 1,000 year old shrine known as Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. It is one of the most important Shinto Shrines in the country (I honestly don’t know who ranks these things… I’m only repeating what I’ve read)…
Hummm… you see, not all shrines in the Tokyo area are ancient… if you know my sister Allie and I, you know that we love hitting these tourist traps… however, I honestly wasn’t looking for it in Tokyo (I was afraid of “wasting” time)… therefore you can imagine my excitement when I literally stumbled across the iconic American restaurant… sometimes it is SOOO much better to be better than good!!!
OK, now I’m spent… if you will excuse me, I have to find Meg in order to figure out how to heck to post this stuff…
