16May09: Aandrea LaFavor
A Henro Hangover: A Short Reflection
"Aunnie sensei, are you O.K.?" a few students asked me on our way up a flight of stairs early Monday morning.
Even though I responded with an energetic, "元気ですよ!" I am sure my お祖母さん hobbling revealed another story. When I finally admitted to my students (after an intense inquisition I might add) that henroing was the cause of my aches and pains, a few couldn't help but laugh. "Ohenrosan?" "Hoooooma?!" I can't blame them because the first thing that probably came to their minds is what comes to most of ours: a recent retiree, erratically holding his or herself up with a walking stick, being conveniently driven around Shikoku on a bus tour. So, how could an activity symbolized by recent retirees possibly cause what appears to be a henro hangover in a twenty-two year old?
Well, let me tell you. We trekked it. We didn't walk, we didn't hike, hot damn we trekked it. Sure, it sounds easy enough, and it was until we ran into mountains. Huuuuuge mountains (especially when you're looking to catch a 4 o'clock bus)! Okay, yeah there were plenty of trails in these mountains, but they were what I would call "unique." By this, and in no way am I kidding, I mean they were the most ridiculously planned trails I have ever seen. Sure, I may not be an experienced climber, but still these trails were reminiscent of an awful rollercoaster ride (you know the kind, where even the most daredevil one of the group look at you afterwards and say "Never again."). As if these incessant and insanely-steep ups and downs weren't enough, there was a point in our venture where the trail stopped. That's right. No trail--just rocks. At this moment I just started laughing and bellowed into the wilderness, "For realz, Kukai?! Are you serious?!!" What solidified my pathetic display of physical vigor, however, was having people twice my age bounce around like this was an actual walk in the park. They had to be part mountain goat, I swear!
Although my complaining proves otherwise, I wouldn't have traded the physical exhaustion or embarrassment for anything else that Saturday afternoon. I had an absolute ball. Yes, by the end, I was drenched in sweat, my legs were shaking, and it was getting difficult to feel my feet, but that's what it's all about. As I stated in my previous writing, henroing is what you make of it. There are no set standards for doing ohenrosan (i.e. health, spirituality, history, etc.), so even if traveling together, no two henros share the same journey. This is exactly what makes this experience so unique, and why I feel the 88 Temples would be a valued addition to the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Unlike Himeji-jo or Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, where you pay an entrance fee, walk around, look at the artifacts, and take pictures, the 88 Temples gives people an opportunity to actively engage with Japan in a very personal way. Shikoku's 88 Temples gives tourists and non-tourists alike an opportunity to put down the camera, go beyond the glass casings, and surrounded themselves with the Japanese culture in a manner that is completely distinctive to the ohenrosan experience.
