Second summary. Things have turned serious

Another quick update. Full descriptions coming later though but quickk summary how next 3 days went.

After first 2 days I had got to temple 11 and was preparing to conquer the Shosanji that is commonly attributed as hardest temple of the trip and as "the place where pilgrims fall". Path had steep climp up, short descent, then very steep climp to almost 800 meter height followed by knee breaking descent before starting the hardest climb of this part to some 725m height.

I took 3 times break(along with plenty of short stops for air) meeting other pilgrims on and off. In particular was enjoying company of one pair of japanese. I hope we'll meet again! Would be nice to share more experiences.

I had heard there was snow on top which was scary thought having just sent warm jacket away. Would have been embarrasing to fail because I had sent needed warm clothes just before! Luckily it was just small piles so while it was chilly enough I managed to survive it without too much trouble.

Lodging was one of the best experiences so far and really drove in the pilgim-fellowship feeling in.

Next day proved to be feet killing 36 kilometer hike including one mountain climb and descent. Not sure how plan was so off in distance. Had I known it was that off I might have reconsidered plans a bit. Still I got some of the best photos of trip during it and bangai bekkaku temple 2 was one of the most beautiful ones so far. Overall great day and meeting on and off other pilgrims whom i would be meeting later again. I managed to get up to temple 16 with feet feeling like they were dead. But having walked 36km mostly on asphalt rather than 28km like i thought no wonder.

Day 5 then had first taste of rain during pilgrimage. Unsurprisingly it is not pleasant experience. It was also day of forgeting things, getting lost and talking until I felt like tongue would fall off! People are generally talkative and when they realize I can speak Japanese they go off. In particular i remember sweet little grandma I met in the Jizo-in. Wish you strenght and happy deas ahead!

Left heel gave me some grief(pain) in the day but got better during the walking so maybe it's okay.

Another issue is sunday's lodging whose plan A and plan B failed. Plan C wasn't viable for me(like I sleep outside with no tent nor sleeping bag!) and plan D would cost me one of the two reserve days so I went for plan E and will take a train to Tokushima on sunday, sleep there and come back on monday. Heh. Not exactly purist way to do but not short cut either. Actually adds up distance to walk on sunday and monday.

Sunday is going to be one of the toughest days so far likely. Close to 30km(assuming plan is about right for a change...Above is slightly more than my calculations say), 2 bigger mountaints to 500m and 520m and smaller mountain to around 200m. Going to be long day but I took chance to get business hotel with the train trip. That way checkin can be late so I can if need walk until say 7pm if need be though darkness could be problem(well I have lamps) so I can take rest breaks without worrying about running late. I even specified on hotel booking "late check in".

After sunday it gets bit easier with 3 shorter days if lodgings work out as planned. Then comes first long days in the Kochi prefecture that I have been bit worried. Long stretches of same asphalt highway for tens of kilometers with little to no temples to visit either!

Summary of trip so far

As I have little time to write and hard to upload photos with just camera full reports will come later but here's some notes so far.

Obviously I'm still alive as I write this :D Arrived to Japan in Sunday and getting to first bus and first train got to temple 1 while it was still open. Bought pilgrim goods there except for hakui(no size fit) and wagesa I forgot and bought next day. I then proceeded to walk to first 2 bangai places Jurinji and Torinji. I could visit these as I was staying in business hotel rather than ryokan so less worry about when I would come. I ended up getting to hotel around 19:30. Too late for ryokans generally as dinner time(shared) is way before that.

Day 1 saw me proceed from temple 1 to temple 6 and included also the first bangai temple. All in all distance ended up to around 30km in about 10h stint. Most interesting temples were 4 and the bangai temple. Also had lovely conversation with the two older ladies at the stamp office of book 2.

Streets around here have been generally eerily quiet which has been big difference to Tokyo etc. You can walk long times seeing just car or two passing. But at other times there are more people who then proceed to ask you where you come from, how long you have lived in japan(well if you speak japanese), how far you plan to go etc. Japanese people are question machines!

Received bunch of osettais(free gifts). People here are so friendly. They are also cheering you forward so now I feel like betraying them if I quit!

Taisanji(bangai temple) was hardest part of first day being at around 450m tall mountain. First I had to climb very steep part, then less steep part but with seemingly endless fall right next to me and finally very long stone stairways to get to temple. I was rewarded there with another visitor coming who talked with me long time and another long talk over cup of tea with the ladies in the ticket office. This talk resulted in me having to hurry to the temple lodging at the Anrakuji!

Temple lodging was very nice and provided interesting experience of taking part in buddhist ceremony. I had watched one in another temple lodging but this time we were asked to take part. Part of it was particularly emotional as we had been asked to write name and day of death of ancestor. I picked up mother's mother who was the one I remembered best(she died when I was already adult vs others who died when I was kid or even unborn). Brought me memories of her. Hadn't thought about her for a while so suddenly felt very nostalgi and sad.

Next day I proceeded further west hitting temples 7, 8 and 9 seeing often other westerners. From denmark or Holland. Those 2 countries provide lots of pilgrims! There's small nordic invasion going on with 4 danes and 1 finn walking around same area right now!

Temple 10 saw me go through one of the longest stairways made of stone I have climbed. 333 steps. And the further to get to see big pagoda. But views were great. And lots and lots and lots and lots of talking with various japanese people as I was resting and people came and went often hearing me talking in japanese with one person and joining in asking questions themselves.

Heading toward temple 11 I decided that backbag was definitely way too heavy so headed toward post office. Flat land I think I could manage especially if I don't need food but mountains and food plus water could be too hard. I sent over 2kg off and trashed some more so hopefully that eases it up a bit.

Met wonderful guy who's 70, doing pilgrimage in reverse and just did over 30km day including mountain I'll be climbing tomorrow but not planning to descen before thursday! Unbelieavable!

Overall having fun. Feet are slight worry but hopefully reduced bag weight and/or getting used helps.

First lodgings booked

One preparation that I had been putting off was lodgings. For one it would be first time I would be booking lodgings over phone and I was nervous. For second I won't be booking weeks in advance during the pilgrimage either so might just as well do it in same way. If this has lots of booked fully problem I can reconsider things for later.

Now I have been studying Japanese for tad over 6 years and been to Japan 4 times so far. But I have never ever booked up hotel by phone! So far it's been by internet site so human contact has been email only if that. That or I have walked to the reception and asked for room(did this once). And phone experience to Japan has been just once to taxi company. While I have talked with Japanese over skype it's still different just chatting to booking something!

But cannot be helped so on wednesday picked up phone. I started with nearby temple 1 for the first night in sunday. No answers from two minshuku or ryokan. Not a good start. Moving onward I decided to book for monday instead. For this one I wanted to stay in the 6th temple of the trip, Anrakuji, which offers temple lodging. Now I have stayed in temple lodgings before and enjoyed and it feels very appropriate for a pilgrimage so I had decided to try to stay in as many as possible.

So I called(via skype. 9 cents per minute to Japan. WAY cheaper than regular phone call). I got a response! And couldn't understand a word! I panicked did I even call right country never mind right place. Switching to English I understood that a) yes this IS Anrakuji b) there was major signal problems which made it hard for both of us to understand each other. My english probably didn't help so once I knew it was Anrakuji on the phone I switched to Japanese and we managed to sort out bookings. Yey! 1 down. Was planning 3 more.

Next up for tuesday. I called for minshuku nearest to temple #11(Fujiidera) so that I could on wednesday start as close as possible to infamous climb to #12 Shosanji. I got a response. Good start. I introduced myself and what I wanted. He said to wait a moment and talked to somebody. Fully booked...Oh bummer.

Well I decided to think on this bit more and called for wednesday's lodging(which was last one I was planning to book). This is first big one as it's shortly after #12 and next one would be several km's(or probably like 1.5-2h walk) away and after climb to Shosanji not sure how far I could walk so I definitely wanted this one. Was bit nervous when I called!

Luckily this one went without a hickup. I got myself a place! Yey! Later I read other pilgrim's experience and it even sounds good place to stay with a friendly dog! I love dogs so that's a nice bonus.

Back to tuesday's lodging. I looked airbnb possibilities. Closest too far for my taste. I considered business hotel nearby but those don't tend to have meals so I wanted ryokan/minshuku. Ended up calling another ryokan about 2km or so from the originally planned minshuku and got myself booking! Success.

With 3 bookings down all I needed was the one to sunday so I called to them again. One still didn't reply but other replied and told they are taking holiday on Sunday! That was unexpected but guess even minshuku/ryokan owners might want to take a break. Bit odd for peak season but their choice(and yes I'm pretty damn sure I heard them right. "sono hi ni yasumimasu"

This was slight annoyance but there were still options. I could wait and try the other place again like next day. There was 3rd choice bit further away. Temple #2 also offers lodging so I could sleep there. Maybe do first temple on sunday and thus shorten day.

Or...I could stay say in Tokushima proper and on monday morning take early train to Bando and start my walk. I realized also this had added bonus. I had hoped to visit Torinji(oku-no-in of first temple) on sunday but arrival to Tokushima from airport would be so late that there and back would take so long arrival to minshuku would be late. Generally rule is to check in around 3-5pm especially if you have meals so this wouldn't be possible.

If I stay in business hotel however things are different. They don't have set dinner time. You can get in and out pretty much at will.

This sounded good so I looked at trivago and sure enough got a bed in hotel right next to Tokushima station. Yey!

So there. First 4 nights booked up. This takes me to Shosanji. I will book more once I get there once I know whether legs can maintain me on the walk further or not.

Everything pretty much packed up and ready to go. Plane departs tomorrow. Legs are itching! Let's go!

Heart suttra

Quick introduction to the most common suttra(teachings said to come from Buddha) chanted during the pilgrimage. If you do this pilgrimage you WILL hear this in the temples many many times. In particular if you are in the temple same time as bus tour you will invariably hear their group chanting.

This is also one of the most popular suttras for Buddhists to chant in general. It's relatively short(taking less than 300 chinese characters) and is said to have the essence of collection of wisdom suttras in short term.

Following is one english translation for it by Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh.(side note: Avalokiteshvara is the original Sanskrit name for what Japanee call Kannon bodhisatva)

Avalokiteshvara
while practicing deeply with
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore,
suddenly discovered that
all of the five Skandhas are equally empty,
and with this realisation
he overcame all Ill-being.

Skandha is buddhist term for 5 things that make up human. Form (or matter or body), sensations (or feelings, received from form), perceptions, mental activity or formations, and consciousness.

“Listen Sariputra,
this Body itself is Emptiness
and Emptiness itself is this Body.
This Body is not other than Emptiness
and Emptiness is not other than this Body.

Sariputra is one of the most famous Buddha's disclipines. This part is also rather famous part of this suttra.

The same is true of Feelings,
Perceptions, Mental Formations,
and Consciousness.

“Listen Sariputra,
all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of
no Birth no Death,
no Being no Non-being,
no Defilement no Purity,
no Increasing no Decreasing.

“That is why in Emptiness,
Body, Feelings, Perceptions,
Mental Formations and Consciousness
are not separate self entities.

The Eighteen Realms of Phenomena
which are the six Sense Organs,
the six Sense Objects,
and the six Consciousnesses
are also not separate self entities.

The Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising
and their Extinction
are also not separate self entities.
Ill-being, the Causes of Ill-being,
the End of Ill-being, the Path,
insight and attainment,
are also not separate self entities.

Whoever can see this
no longer needs anything to attain.

Bodhisattvas who practice
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
see no more obstacles in their mind,
and because there
are no more obstacles in their mind,
they can overcome all fear,
destroy all wrong perceptions
and realize Perfect Nirvana.

“All Buddhas in the past, present and future
by practicing
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
are all capable of attaining
Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment.

“Therefore Sariputra,
it should be known that
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
is a Great Mantra,
the most illuminating mantra,
the highest mantra,
a mantra beyond compare,
the True Wisdom that has the power
to put an end to all kinds of suffering.
Therefore let us proclaim
a mantra to praise
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!”

There. Why I have feeling this is actually longer in english than in chinese/japanese(no idea what it is like in sanskrit).

So what does that mean? Basically it says that everything is empty but empty from what? Glass with water is not empty now is it? What if you pour water out? It still has air in it which has weight and can be measured. Glass itself is also full of materials. But that's not what term empty here means. Maybe lack of proper word in english for it. What is meant with "being empty" is lack of intrinsic(oh dear what a word) existence or non-dependant existence. 

Everything is dependant on existence of other thing(s) to be here and now as it is. That's what this suttra is saying. You take one of the factors away and the thing wouldn't exist. If there wouldn't have been sand there wouldn't have been glass that made the cup. If there hadn't been glass maker who did the cup there wouldn't be  the cup. If there wouldn't have been grand father of the cup maker there wouldn't be cup. This goes even to things you wouldn't normally think like if there hadn't been explosion of star in light years away _you would not be here now_. Everything in this planet actually comes from distant supernova's millions of years that have combined to here and now.

Similar thing applies to humans. Human is collection of bodyparts that have formed up(temporarily) from smaller parts into shape it is with conciousness that's born out of multiple things. Change things and human you see wouldn't be same human but different one. Born into different family? That would have changed enviroment human would have been born into affecting his/her character. Child has experiences that shape him/her into person he/she is now. If child would have lost arm in childhood he or she would behave differently than he does now. Somebody who has experienced poorness and faminity isn't going to be same person as he or she would be if that wouldn't be case.

What is me? Is it my body? If I lose my arms and legs in an accident am I no longer me? I already look different to 10 years ago me(if I looked same I would be dead within days of trying this pilgrimage!). I don't think so. What about my mind? Would I still be same person if I had just mind but no body? Not likely. And what mind are we talking about? The one now? So whatabout me from 1 year ago? 5 years ago? 10? 30? At my birth? In where can you find the thing that is ME without depending on others? If you can find it and prove it congratulations! You have just managed to create Buddhist revolution so get it official and you will be remembered in history for a long time!

This results in that everything, and this is literally EVERYTHING, is non-permanent. Changing. Forming from one thing to another. Human is born when cells change into certain form inside a womb. Human then keeps changing as he or she grows into teen, adult, old person and eventually dies away. All are just changes. Town you live changed shape from one thing to town it is and eventually will change into something else. That's the inevitable fate of everything. Changing into something else.

Buddha said much of human suffering comes from refusing to accept this inevitability of change and trying to hold on to things that will eventually change.

And this is what no birth and no death in the suttra means. What we call birth and death are by Buddhism view just another forms of change. Nothing is actually truly born(come out of nothingness) and nothing truly dies(goes out of existence. And this is something so far even smartest physicians haven't been able to disprove. No matter how we might try we cannot get rid of simple dust particle. We can at most change it's shape into something else!)

But is this bad then? Wouldn't it be better if things wouldn't die? Maybe but then nothing would come into life either. Quoting Thich Nhat Hanh's he told story of a friend who was having particular tough time with the concept of impermanence(concept of everything changing. And oh dear that term is hard to spell right. Thanks google!). His daughter had said to him "But dad. Without impermanence I couldn't grow into an adult!".

Now there's certainly things in Buddhism I disagree with but no matter how I have thought I have not been able to figure out how to disprove idea of impermanence. It seems indeed that just as Thich Nhat Hanh said we all are in inter-being(term he coined up to describe the concept).

So there. Quick view of the suttra. Curious though that this suttra is chanted here. As per Kukai's categorizing since this is said to come from Buddha(the historical figure) rather than Mahavairocana this is exoteric teaching rather than esoteric but pilgrimage is in honour of Kukai who is known for his esoteric teachings. Though Kukai did write essay where he showed how there's esoteric teachings hidden in it as well.

My gear

With 3.5 weeks or so being on the move I face this time new challenge. All I will have at hand is what I carry on my back or by on the fly. However I can't carry everything and kitchen sink! The more I carry the more it weights and the worse it's going to be to carry around for my legs.

I did practice all summer and fall often doing 30km hikes in nearby national park with 15kg or more as starting weight without much of issues but of course most of THAT was on forest while in Shikoku lots will be over asphalt. Furthermore there's no mountains in that national park while I will be climbing several ~500m+ ones in Shikoku...This without even considering second half that contains the over 900m tall mountains(well two).

So obviously I want to carry as little as I can. Unfortunately this still added up...

What I have come up with:

a) 3 sets of underwear(pants and t-shirt). Maybe 1 or even 2 too many as most lodgings should have washing machine but I decided to be on safe side and afterwards on Tokyo I would rather not have to worry about finding washing machine every night

b) 2 pairs of inner socks, 2 pairs of outer socks, 1 pair of regular socks. I have found 2 layer of socks to be good for anti-blisters so that's how I'll be walking. And since wet socks are recipe for blisters I took second pair to switch mid day if I get soaked in rain or it's very hot and I'm sweating too much. Regular socks for evening usage so I don't walk around bare feet.

c) portable keyboard, phone charger, travel USB battery, camera charger. Original plan was to have laptop but trying out gear it did feel quite heavy. No problem on flat land but with water and food added it might be too heavy for me on mountains. So I made plan B whereupon I use portable keyboard(280g) to write notes on my mobile phone along with voice recording comments during walking and bought 64gb memory card to my camera. Hopefully that's enough. If not I try to buy USB memory stick, borrow pc somewhere(hopefully) and transfer some of the images into that.

d) spare trouser, rain gear(pants and jacket), coat, spring jacket, hat, gloves. Shikoku is rainy place so need some anti-rain. I don't plan to walk nearly 4 weeks without washing trouser and since dryer seems to be not guaranteed no guarantee on having washed trousers dry for sure on next day. Also with what to walk around in lodging in meanwhile? Pants? As if. Jacket, hat and gloves I had hoped to be without but having seen there still can be SNOW in mountains maybe it's good idea to have them. And hey if it becomes too hot to have them and weight is unbearable I can just ship them back to Finland if nothing else.

e) shaving kit, toothpaste, taping for feet, "fake skin" bandaid for feet. I expect to get blisters anyway so bandaid good. Taping feet I found out good to support ankles and also works against blisters so I'll have couple roll with me and hope to either have legs become strong before they run out or find them on route on sale.

f) pilgrim map, stamp book, some photos of Finland to either show to people or to give if they want, USB with copy of those photos so I can print on next konbini store when they run out. Pilgrim stuff is fairly self-evident. Can't do this without SOME sort of map and I prefer paper one over phone one. Phone could run out of battery! Photos is unneeded weight but luckily konbini's allow printing more so I won't be carrying much and since I like seeing photos of new places why not do same to others and introduce bit Finnish sights :)

g) Camera, book. Camera as I love taking photos. In hindsight maybe got too big and heavy but it's still not heaviest one out there and boy it's good one without being one that you can exchange optics. I have high hopes of seeing good views and want to ensure getting good photo's out of those won't be fault of phone camera! Book is again extra weight but I pick light and small one and main purpose is to kill time on the 10h flight. If weight becomes issue I can throw it to garbage bin and buy new one before leaving. Costs like 3-4 euro's only.

For food&drink I will be eating mostly in restaurant(s) I come across, in lodgings and if no restaurants come across konbini. Or if no konbini is on route either(I try to keep eye on map regarding those scenarios) buy something in advance. Also will be carrying some high-calory/low weight stuff just in case. Drink wise Japan is full of vending machines, temples have water and lodgings obviously so it's not biggest worries. I have small water bag that I have some water(most of the time very little though as I can get drinks on the fly) in case or drinking little sip when I want rather than lots at once. But there are times when I will have to go to mountain for a longer period so that's when I will load up tad more. Max is 3l but doubt I never put max(biggest candinate would be actually 3rd day which has the aproximately 7-8 hour climb to the temple in mountain).

Lots of stuff actually. Hoped to have bit lighter but test carry doesn't feel too bad. Let's see how it feels after walking week with it! One problem I have ran into though is that the bag is actually tad small. Stuff doesn't weight that much but takes space. Rain days could be issue if I need to have food with me as camera and pilgrim book etc need to go inside. On those days food bag will be hanging out of my back bag I think.

For shoes I have Merrel light(ish) trekking shoes. With shoes there seems to be two camps on what is good. There's trail runner camp who swear on having light shoes. This is good especially on asphalt(of which pilgrimage consists a lot). One kilo on your feet feels like several on your back.

However parts of the trek will be over mountains during which, especially the heavier bag you are carrying, extra support to ankles by trekking shoes are welcome.

I'll be trying to walk the Shikoku Pilgrimage

Another year, another trip to Japan. Yey! And this time it's extra special trip for me as I have been waiting for this trip for close to two years. This time I'll be(trying) to walk the Shikoku pilgrimage! Well at least first half of it. Unfortunately couldn't get enough holidays for the entire plan but I knew from the get-go that 8-9 weeks would be tough to get so I had to settle for about 4 weeks this time and hope to get 5 weeks next year for the (longer) 2nd half. But for this one plane departs on Saturday 25th, arrives early Sunday morning and plan is to start walking on Monday with most of Sunday being spent getting to Tokushima, buying pilgrim gear and settling in to first lodging.

Now bad news first: Not sure how much I will update this during the walk as I won't have laptop with me. Indeed uploading photos isn't really feasible. I will however be taking notes and photographs so I will be writing a lot afterwards.

So what is Shikoku Pilgrimage? To put it simply it's walk around the island of Shikoku, the smallest of four main islands in Japan, passing through 88 temples that claim connection to Japanese priest Kukai, also known posthumously as Kobo Daishi(Great Teacher who spread the Dharma(Buddhist teachings)).

Here's one map(courtesy of shikokuhenrotrail.com).

Complete distance for the walk? 1200 kilometers or so. Except there's also 20 additional temples I'm planning to visit which adds about 200km or so(above temple distance seems to count the additional temples as well as author visited those as well). Whether I can actually walk the whole distance is another thing though! I might very well quit halfway...But plan is to try to reach the temple 39 at the end of Kochi prefecture. This should amount to 640km or so and is convenient place to leave toward Tokyo at the end and make it easy to return to same spot when I would come back. Around temple 38 for example bus is pretty much required...

So who's Kukai and why he's so important? Certainly seems to be rather famous fellow known by name at least by most Japanese. I would equate his fame as similar to Väinämöinen for Finnish people. Even if you aren't well versed on him you know the name. Or Jesus for christians...Kukai basically brought new school/faction of Buddhism from China to Japan, kept opening Buddhism toward common people, helped people in generally(he opened first school in Japan open for anybody regardless of class that even provided lodging if you needed one!) and is credited with n+1 miracles. Also credited with invention of hiragana(one of the writing systems Japanese use) though that's probably false but he IS still considered one of the top-3 masters of calligraphy in Japan.

Short...ah who am I kidding. I can't write shortly so this will be longish biography of Kukai. If you aren't interested you can skip further where I continue with my trip's plans.

Biography of Kukai

 Birth and early youth

 Kukai was born ain 774 in the current Kagawa prefecture near where the temple 75 is(so you can locate that from map above). Son of noble house he certainly had potential for rich life and seemed to show potential in school. However his family fame got a hit when(whether false or not I don't know) they were implicated in assassination of another noble which left the family in some level of disgrace. Then when he was 15 he was sent to Nara to be taught by his uncle(who also taught one of the Emperor's sons...). His family probably banked quite a lot for him to restore the family honor. At the age of 18 he entered state university whose graduates basically have guaranteed job at the court. So he was on track for wealthy life though the assassination thing might have prevented him from archiving highest positions.

In any case at the university he had to study lots of Confucianism that was official state philosophy in the Japan at the time. However in his first year he seems to have met a Buddhist priest and something must have struck as he essentially became student in name only visiting frequently his home island Shikoku.

In fact around this time it is said he performed first time Gumonjihō ritual where you say mantra of Kokūzō Boddhisatva one million times during course of 100 days in the Shikoku. As rules of university didn't allow being out of studies that long this would have resulted him being expelled.

This must have been quite a disappointment  to his family who, rather than see him become court official and hopefully restore family honour, had to watch him become wandering monk without any wealth. 

For next few years he would wander around Shikoku seeking enlightenment. This includes ascetic practices at the top of Mount Tairyuu(where temple #21 is now) and finally at the south of Cape Muroto where current temple #24 is located where he vowed to stay until he succeeded. He would spend three years in small cave until he achieved enlightenment.

However for all that he was not and would not be official priest for quite a few years. At that time Buddhism was tied up with state though there were some friction(capital moved from Nara to current Kyoto to avoid growing influence of priests). Outsiders teaching were not generally looked well though past century or so with En no Gyōja(634-701) and Gyogi(668-748) had been among spearhead so to speak to open Buddhism further. This probably resulted in some trouble for Kukai but based on his writings it's clear that he had been studying writings so he clearly must have been in cities studying Buddhist writings before.

Trip to China

During this time Kukai seems to have ran into crisis in combining book studies and meditative studies. He was told(legend says in a dream) that Mahavairocana suttra(suttra being basically book that has teachings) would have what he sought. However while Japan had copies of the suttra available it had lots he could not understand nor could anybody he could talk. This was because the suttra was part of Esoteric Buddhism not really understood in Japan(or China) being mixed with Exoteric Buddhism. Also it had lots of Sanskrit text(language used in old India). This gave Kukai desire to go to study in China. Note that unlike popular belief this was NOT to go study Esoteric buddhism but rather to learn about this specific suttra. He didn't know it was Esoteric buddhism or what it was.

However going to China wasn't that easy and for unordained(ie not official priest) it wasn't possible. However somehow he got ordained bypassing official requirements somehow and assigned to envoy in the year 804. Some theories say high contacts but might have been simple blind luck he got to this envoy. There had been previous envoy that however had hit into storm and had to return. At the time in those cases priests were believed to have bad luck if they hit into storm so were replaced and Kukai with his by then rudimentary chinese speaking and writing skills(since he had been studying with the goal of going to China) might simply have been convenient choice!

So vowing to stay in China for no less than 20 years he was in first ship out of 4 while ship 2 had another famous priest Saicho. But disaster struct again with yet another storm(travel was not safe at that time...) and ships 3 and 4 were lost. Ship 2 with Saicho got more or less where intended but ship 1 drifted further south but eventually made it.

Took some time but eventually Kukai was allowed into temple to study Buddhism. Learning sanskrit from monk called Prajna(I think) he would eventually get into contact with master Hui-Kuo. Kukai later described their first meeting like this:

Accompanied by Jiming, Tansheng, and several other Dharma masters from the Ximing monastery, I went to visit him [Huiguo] and was granted an audience. As soon as he saw me, the abbot smiled, and said with delight, "since learning of your arrival, I have waited anxiously. How excellent, how excellent that we have met today at last! My life is ending soon, and yet I have no more disciples to whom to transmit the Dharma. Prepare without delay the offerings of incense and flowers for your entry into the abhisheka mandala.

From this it's clear Hui-Kuo was aware of Kukai and had been looking forward to him. Hui-Kuo who would teach him Esoteric Buddhism. Kukai's rate of learning seems to have fast as within year from arriving to Japan he already achieved rank of master of Esoteric Buddhism shortly before Hui-Kuo died.

Return to Japan

But here was new problem for Kukai. He had achieved his goal and Hui-Kuo had asked him to return to Japan quickly to further spread his teachings. But Kukai had vowed to stay for another 19 years...Nevertheless he returned and arriving to Kyushu he sent letter describing what he had learned and what he had brought with him(lots of translated books, many new in Japan, books in original sanskrit, various ritual tools, paintings etc) and why he felt imperative to return.

Despite his learnings and what he had brought Kukai still had broken his promise(and remember his travel was paid by the state which expected to get something in return. It was not charity). Also his claim of bringing new form of Buddhism(Esoteric Buddhism) wasn't met all that joyously. After all Saicho(very famous priest) had already brought it hadn't he? That was the thought. However Saicho had only brought bits and pieces he had incorporated to his Tendai sect. This was however lost as there wasn't real grasp on what Esoteric Buddhism IS. Indeed Esoteric writings had been available for century in Japan and some esoteric deities like Avalokitesvara(Kannon Boddhisatva in Japanese. Incidentally last years Chichibu pilgrimage was in temples dedicated to her...) were widely known by them. But these were thought to be part of the old style of Buddhism. In large because same lack of separation was in China from which Japanese modeled itself heavily!

Exoteric vs Esoteric

So what is Exoteric buddhism and what is Esoteric buddhism? To put it simply(if I can. I don't really understand it myself) exoteric refers to teachings made by the historical Buddha. These teachings are said to come straight to him. These however Esoteric buddhists consider not as the ultimate truth but skillful mean to lead student toward the ultimate truth. Esoteric meanwhile comes from the source, from the Mahavairocana or  Dharmakaya Buddha aka cosmic Buddha. In otherwords cosmic Buddha is the one that taught Buddha how to achieve enlightenment. Buddha then taught those. But why not same teachings? Because esoteric Buddhism is said to be one that cannot fully be taught by words but needs personal experience(meditation being main tool but also incorporates sounds, pictures, gestures etc).

Last year I mentioned Buddhism not having god to believe in and I still stand by it yet above is mention of cosmic Buddha. So who's that if not god? Simply put reality itself. Mahavairocana, rather than being celestial being controlling life and fate is simply the reality itself. From this concept comes this quote from master Hui-Kuo(might not be perfect word to word as I paraphrased this from memory).

If you know your mind as it truly is you know the mind of the Buddha. Furthermore if you know the mind of the Buddha you know the mind of all living beings.

Kukai worked hard trying to get recognition for his new style of Buddhism that he didn't even want to describe as mere "school" like many in Japan. Instead he wanted it to be recognized as third Yana. First two being Hinayana(lesser vehicle, the original) and Mahayana(greater vehicle). This third one would get name Vajrayana. One key difference between the Vajrayana being that while other two states enlightenment requires lots of time(many lifetimes) Vajrayana says it's possible to achieve it within your own lifetime as it already is within you. You just need to dig it out. Still hard but not eons long process. But due to Kukai's desire to separate Esoteric as not just another school it's notable that while currently term "Shingon school"(Shingon being term Kukai used it meaning true word or mantra) is used Kukai only used 4 times term "Shingon school".

Raise to fame

 

Kukai might have been ended up stuck on Kyushu but change of Emperor happened and Emperor Saga came to throne. Unlike previous Emperor he took more interest in Kukai's work and with his love of arts was in writing contact with Kukai regarding calligraphy and I think poetry. Saga's support got him out of Kyushu and allowed him to start working on spreading his new Buddhism. Kukai was also probably seen as useful way for the state to repair their relationships with the temples due to his friendship with the Emperor. Also early alliance with Saicho helped as Saicho wanted to learn more about Esoteric buddhism but differences of opinions would lead to the two becoming more like rivals.

It's interesting to note though that the two while generally having similar goal, that of creating new style of Buddhism separate from that of Nara, the methods were quite different. Kukai was generally the one that was more willing to work with the Nara priests while Saicho tried forcibly to set his own system. This led into serious problems. Kukai meanwhile spread his new style in smaller steps and in fact two notable events in his life, being put in control of Todaiji(temple in Kyoto) and being promoted to quite a high rank(was it even 2nd highest) in Sogo, the insitution governing buddhist priests in Japan. So while there's some "rebellion against Nara Buddhists" idea attached to the Kukai he was actually part of the system.

Rise of his new form of Buddhism however was not particularly fast as evidenced by his letter of propagation in 815 where he asked for help from other priests of copying suttras related to Esoteric buddhism. This contrast a bit compared to commonly held view that with backing of Emperor and Saicho Shingon spread quite fast. It seems it really started to pick some speed on 820's, ie after assigned to Todaiji(822) and Sogo(824).

His final major achievement would probably be Mount Koya temple complex he started(though it would be finished only after his passing) in the Kii mountains. Kukai got permission from Emperor to set up temple complex at the Mount Koya and would spend much of his final years altering between being in the capital and being in Mount Koya to puzzlement of others who thought being in the capital would be preferable to lone mountain and indeed drew some criticism as he could spend months there in meditation refusing all requests even from the Emperor. For example one priest/courtmember(don't recall which) sent following letter:

What pleasure do you find in the mountains? You even became oblivious of returning to our world. A secret scripture and a robe of a hundred shreds. All your belongings there, soaked in the rain clouds. The Harsh sun will soon turn them to dust blown in the wind. For what do you vainly starve yourself to death? No teacher in any disclipine would ever approve you."

To which Kukai replied:

A priest living a solitary life of povertry. I have no family, no nation, no homeland. No one's child, no one's subject, that is who I am. Water scooped from the moonlit valley stream sustains my life. A breath of evening mist returning from the peaks refreshes my spirit. Creepers and blades of glass are my robe. Pine leaves and cedar bark, my bedding. For my night's sleep heavenly gods kindly draw across dusk, it's indigo blue draping. The dragon kings devotedly spread forth white clouds their white curtain. At times mountain birds visit me to sing their songs, joined by monkeys dancing on branches, an entertainment far superior to our own. Smiling, the cherry blossoms in spring and the wild chrysanthemums in fall keep me company. The moonbeams before dawn and the breeze at daybreak wash away dust from my mind.

Here can be see two 

Kukai passed the world 835(common legend says he did not die but entered eternal meditation in which he still works for salvation of others. He is said to have said "when the universum ends, when there are no more beings to be liberated, then will my prayers end" during his final days). In the year 921 he was given his posthumous name Kobo Daishi.

Phew. Above ended up long but still rather superficial biography.

Origins of the pilgrimage

Shikoku Pilgrimage is quite old, said to be about 1200 years old which puts start around the time of Kukai's passing. However exact origins are shrouded in mystery and truth will probably be never known. There are many various legends as to what started. Some common ones:

Emon Saburo

Probably the most famous relating story of rich but greedy merchant near current Matsuyama. One day wandering monk arrived and asked for food but he didn't give. This repeated for 6 more days until on 7th day he got angry and struck the priest causing his bowl to fall and shatter to pieces. Monk left and didn't result but shortly after merchants sons started dying one after another. After last one had died he realized this was retribution for striking the monk and that the monk had been none other than Kukai. Vowing to apologize he started walking in clockwise direction the shikoku. 20 times he walked over it(over 20,000 kilometers!) but didn't find him. He then decided to walk in counter-clockwise direction. Finally approaching current temple #12 he finally collapsed exhausted and was about to die when Kukai appeared. Asking forgiveness he got it. He asked that Kukai would make it so that he would be born in rich family so that he could pay back for his past sins. Kukai agreed and after Emon Saburo had died picked up small stone and wrote to it "Emon Saburo reborn" and put it to his hand when he buried. Some time ago child was born to rich family in the Emon Saburo's birthplace whose hand would not open. Finally priest was called in who got hand open with small stone inside with "Emon Saburo reborn" text in it...Child would later use his inherited wealth for many good deeds.

Emon Saburo's tale is related to two different places, the temple #51 Ishiteji(stone hand temple) which is on where boy is said to have born. There's also statue of Emon and Kukai near temple #12 which I'm looking forward seeing on this trip. Temple #51 is on next trip however.

Another story says Prince Takaoka, rd son of Emperor Heizei who became disclipine of Kukai after leaving court after being expelled from the court.

However it is HIGHLY unlikely any single person can be really credited for the creation. What is known is that quite soon after passing of Kukai priests started walking around Shikoku. After all Kukai had been highly respected and looked after so it would be natural for many priests to emulate him. However those wanderings would be quite different to what modern pilgrimage is. There wasn't 88 temples specified for visits. Likely many just wandered around doing ascetic practices in places said to have connection to the Kukai. Quite possibly places to go were taught by others who had been there, researched by talking with locals or simply go where priest wanted.

This would go on for several centuries and being generally limited to priests only(haven't read of any mention of non-priest doing it before 17th century).

First time anything resembling it's modern version came in the early 17th century. Warring states period was finally over and peace had came to Japan making travel safe again. Furthermore the system where Daimio's would go periodically to the capital(on the principle that if they have to alter their time between home and capital they have less time to conspire against Shogun and more easily watched) so roads were improved. Also farmers started to produce more food than they ate so could actually earn some extra cash. This gave mean and money to do the pilgrimage even for the commoners. However travel beyond one's home village wasn't still looked fondly by the lords. However the pilgrimage, being at least superficially religious practice, was harder to deny so by filling in papers they could get permission to do this pilgrimage said to give you karmic points, ie good luck, wealth and happiness, for those who do it. And give them chance to see larger world. Quite a many pilgrims at that time might have been simply for sightseeing!

Practicalities was harder though(where to go etc) but on the 17th century there was priest who also wrote the very first guide book for the pilgrimage. This obviously made it easier to do as there was more information available. He also set up many of the stones with guide directions that are dotting the route on his _217_ times he walked it. Seems he suffered broken heart over a women and after that basically spent his entire life walking the island.

217 times. About 260400 kilometers. If you walk steady 20km a day pace that takes over 35 years. Oh dear...That's why I said entire life. Assuming that's not exaggerated number that amount on foot requires entire life...

The pilgrimage continued steadily until world war 2 after which pilgrims pretty much stopped visiting as Japan fell into economic disaster so there wasn't surplus time and money required for the pilgrimage. However in late 1950's economy started to recover which started pilgrims to appear slowly again. Then one company at Matsuyama got idea of pilgrims by bus that proved instant hit especially for olders. Rather than expensive, hard and time consuming walk you could visit all the 88 temples in about 2 weeks which is much cheaper than on foot(lodging etc for ~45 days is much more expensive generally than on bus. Unless you camp out all the time of course) and easier to fit to schedule to the japanese people.

By now most of the ~150,000 people who do the pilgrimage in a year is done by bus. Some use bikes, motor bikes or private cars or even public transportation. Very few(estimated now to be few thousands) walk.

However walking got some boost in the 1990's due to health benefit 6-7 week long walk has. And in 2000's it has started to become more popular among foreigners(in '90's or even later it was very unusual to see foreigner there. I can recommend book called Tales of a Summer Henro by Craig McLachlan. Quite interesting book and tells his experiences on the pilgrimage). And this year I'll be joining the foreigners trying to walk it!

Oh and why 88 temples(plus 20 extra)? No-one knows. There's theory that it's number that is sum of japanese belief of unlucky years of men(42), women(33) and children(13) so visiting all temples results in removal of bad luck. And 20 bangai temples because 88+20=108 or the number of kleshash(mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. Fear, anger, greed, hatred etc) so by traveling them you purify yourself of each one.

Or it could be simply something so mundane that the 88 temples that ended up being selected(many which were part of smaller mini-pilgrimages like temples 1-10, several temples around temple 75 or 46-51) resulted in total distance that was about doable for farmers in time they could be out of their home in the 17th-18th century!

And back to my trip

 So there. "Short" overview of Kukai and the pilgrimage. That took some space. Sorry! Have been studying for this trip for almost two years so lots of bits and pieces I have picked up.

Anyway as said I won't have time for the entire pilgrimage for this year. As it is before I have to return to Tokyo to meet friends I have just 25 days left. I have made plan of where to go each day and if I can keep it I will start trip to Tokyo on 24th day so I have one day spare in case I need to slow down somewhere(due to lodging not being available or needing rest day). Not much but one has what one has. If I need to slow down further I need to either hope I can get longer holiday next year or split the pilgrimage in 3 parts.

I have made plan that's bit relaxed in the start in part deliberately, in part because that's how lodgings and distances came with. Temple #12(Shosanji, temple of burning mountain) is going to be first major challenge and indeed many say it is hardest part of the entire pilgrimage. I definitely want to devote entire day for it so I needed to plan so that previous day is on the foothills. Distance there is 45km so since that's too much for 1 day it's 2 days and after factoring where possible lodgings are(I'm staying at paid lodgings) resulted in ~24km and ~21km days.

These two days should be fairly similar to what I had in the Chichibu last year. Mostly walking at the suburbs and fairly many temples(7 in first day, 5 on second. Would prefer 6 and 6 but no lodgings in suitable position. If I would stop in the previous option it would be 11km and 34km days instead. Not really good idea). So distance wise not that much but all those temple visits are going to eat some time. Mountain wise there's 1 minor one on each day. Tallest one is the first bangai temple on day 1. That's going to be hardest part of first 2 days I think.

After temple #12 it's to Tokushima proper and then start head toward south. After temple #21 mountain temples are mostly done for a long time and I'll be aiming for Kochi prefecture that will be mostly highway walk with mountains on right, sea on left. This is going to be the part I have been least looking forward. Long long days alongside highway(often abandoned) with few restaurants, few temples and little anything. After leaving temple #23 I will even get first taste of pilgrimage days without any temples as distance between #23 and #24 is about 75km and I have added extra scenic route for it. Though still I need to recheck my plans as I come up with 97km and I don't think it's THAT long detour!

Then it's toward Kochi city, back south toward Ashizuri cape and finally go north toward last temple of Kochi and then back to Tokyo. That's the plan! Let's see how well it stands. Problem being I can't quarantee lodgings unless I book them all up in advance and if I then fail to maintain pace...Expensive cancellation spree!

So. Onward!