20Apr08:Impressions about Shikoku 88-Temple Circuit Experience (1)

 We sweated under the hot sun as we ascended the steep slope of Goshikidai. The fresh green of the mountain's leaves shone brilliantly. We continued intently through a patch of muddy road where the slope leveled out. We stepped over pools of water in the path as we walked through the rays of light that penetrated through tree branches above.

Chitteiru            (Fallen camellia, )
akai tsubaki ya  (Red reflected on the face)
toro no ue         (Of a stagnant pool)

When we arrived at Shiramineji, our legs were tired but we bounded up the stairs to the main hall. There we saw white-faced camellias adorned with red stripes. We felt cool beneath the shade of the temple's eaves.

Shiramineji         (Shiramineji)
kō no kemuri ya  (And wafting smoke of incense - )
henrogasa          (A pilgrim's straw hat)

After eating rice balls and resting for a while, we were newly refreshed. Talking happily among one another, we walked along, straddling the rut in the weather-beaten path. When we reached a bend on the downward slope, the thick trees cleared suddenly. The greens and yellows of the grasses mixed together in the blowing wind, looking soft beneath the thinning trunks. We took the wandering path upwards again and looked down upon the trees in the mountain folds.

Yamazakura       (Mountain Sakura)
Shiramineji kara  (Stretch from Shiramineji)
Negoroji e           (To Negoroji)

We passed through the gate of Negoroji and down the stairs, strolling toward the main hall on a cool path covered by the cedar boughs above. At the top of the stairs opposite, a monk told us the legend the Buddhist deity, Senshu Kanon, who fought the wicked cow demon of Aomine, the mountain on which the temple stands. Kanon's thousand hands defeated the cow demon's piercing horns, and the people of the mountain were saved. Apparently, the horns remain at the temple to this very day. In the corridor leading to the main hall at Negoroji, 3000 tiny statues of the Buddha lined the walls, listening to people's prayers with 6000 tiny ears.

Ushioni no             (The cow demon's horns,)
otoshita tsuno ya   (Shed like deer antlers in spring -)
Aomineji                (Aomineji)

We hefted our packs onto our shoulders, grasped our walking sticks, and headed off from the temple. Descending down the pilgrims' path, we could see the port of Takamatsu distantly through the spaces between round-topped hills. A blue heron stood quietly on one leg in the long grasses of a pond. The sun sank down toward the mountains.

Kudaru toki          (On the last descent)
tonbi tobidashi     (A kite flies out from its nest -)
hi ga kureta         (Setting of the sun)

By Chris McCabe
(Edited by Kimiko McCabe)