16May09: Blair Williams
Considering Historical Accuracy: The Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage as a World Heritage Site
Since around the late 17th century, the Japanese island of Shikoku has hosted a temple pilgrimage known to the locals as the hachijyuuhachikashou, so named after the 88-temples that make up the course. Put briefly, there's nothing amateur about the governance: proper rituals are codified, correct uniforms are encouraged, and an order has been given to which temples should be visited first and last. Travelers often carry the proof of their travels in ornate books that upon visitation of any temple are stamped and marked in calligraphy. Paved roads clearly point the way to pilgrimage temples, and well-worn paths meander through the countryside for those that prefer to make the journey by foot. Temples often contain engraved stones remembering those that have donated money or work. In this sense, it is no doubt that the Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage is a cultural entity. To be from Shikoku is to be related, at least tangentially, to the roads and clothes and traditions that mark the pilgrimage.
A prominent feature along the course of temples is the image of the monk Kukai, posthumously named Kobo Daishi. It might be said that Kukai's role is so prevalent that it can never be divorced from the pilgrimage. Local legend maintains that Kukai visited each of the temples, either for a short while or a long time, doing something significant as solving droughts and saving crops or as "insignificant" as praying. Often, Kukai is credited for founding the temples and directing them for short periods. Many of the more fantastic stories--such as Kukai throwing himself from a cliff and being saved by the hand of Buddha--have been accepted as tall tales and relegated to the entertaining mythology of the pilgrimage. Nonetheless, the image and persona of Kukai is pervasive. Pilgrims are encouraged to dress in costumes that bear the image and words attributed to Kukai. The walking staff carries a mantra, "We go the same way," reminding the traveler that they are going in Kukai's footsteps, and that his spirit guards the path. The traveler is to meditate upon this and Kukai's teachings. It is safe to say then, that this cultural entity that is the Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage is meant to be a reflection of Kukai's past travels and mediations.
There is amassed interest in making efforts to include the Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It should be considered, then, the cultural importance of the pilgrimage. How long has it been a valuable cultural asset? In brief, it features 88 temples whose locations (although usually not the buildings) have been in place since the mid-9th Century. The pilgrimage itself has been codified for almost 300 years, and draws hundreds of thousands of people each year now. The temples are associated with religion now and have an acting monk on premise, and have often been associated with political actors in the past. On these grounds alone, the temples of Shikoku could possibly qualify for inclusion among other World Heritage Sites. However, there stands, in this author's opinion, a major obstacle in the way of such acceptance.
That obstacle is the reliance upon the Kukai mythology. That is to say, the Kukai mythology goes far beyond stories that the monk survived falls off cliffs. It is the very fact that there is no evidence Kukai visited the temples. It is true that the monk was born in Zentsu-ji, in Kagawa Prefecture. Beyond that, however, there is only word from legend. Even in his own voluminous writings, there is scarcely a mention of any other temple in Shikoku.
It might be argued that this is an instance where "word-of-mouth" history triumphs over documented history, in that local legends hold more truth than does the written word. At this point, we must consider, then, a few suppositions of our own. Established literature holds that the only possible time Kukai could have done any such journey was in his mid-to-late twenties, when it is thought he abandoned university to become a wandering ascetic. To be brief, at this time Kukai had just discovered Buddhism, and had yet to develop his own model of esoteric Buddhism for which he would be revered. That development only came to be after a trip to China in his early 30's. Following his return to Japan in his mid-thirties, Kukai's life is well-documented, as he became a servant of the Emperor and later went to work on establishing the monastic center at Mount Koya.
If it is true, then, that Kukai journeyed the countryside of Shikoku in his mid-twenties and never wrote about it, then he also did so when he was not a priest. He would have had a basic grounding in Buddhism, but his true education and philosophical development began many years later during his extended stay in China. Even if the leeway is given that Kukai managed to visit the temples, it must be admitted that he did so as a man of no great influence or distinction. It is difficult to lend credence to people building temples on mountaintops and in thick groves at the command of a neophyte who had yet to establish himself as anything more than an ascetic.
Extant literature doesn't help in clarifying the origins of the temple pilgrimage. They tend to do one of two things: 1) refer to the canonical belief that Kukai visited every temple and did the journey along the paths that still exist today, or 2) briefly mention Kukai's real life and then admit scarce details exist, but nonetheless trust the word of the locals that Kukai made at least some of the journey. While an easy way out, this cannot be the way of accuracy. When discussing inclusion into a group like World Heritage Sites, there is simply no room for suppositions to become the foundation of truth.
In this author's opinion, what is necessary for the temple pilgrimage's consideration as a World Heritage Site is one of two things: 1) extraction of the Kukai mythology both from practice and canonical accounts of the temple pilgrimage, or 2) or complete admission and advertisement of the mythology. The first option is practically impossible. As this essay established at the beginning, the image of Kukai is inseparable from the temple pilgrimage. To remove it would to remove, literally, the spirit from the journey. People would protest until the end of their days, because they have been brought up to believe that Kukai made this trip. It is simply too disheartening a path to follow.
The second option, then, is what should be followed. It must be admitted that this pilgrimage is done for a number of reasons: exercise, camaraderie, cultural investigation, personal challenge. It is also done because, for better or worse, a mythology and extensive marketing has developed around the figure of Kukai. The costumes, the signs, the temples with statues, are all economically tied to the image of Kukai. It must be advertised to the World Heritage commission that the Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage is many things: a cultural entity, a marketing entity, a mythological entity, a philosophical entity. Above all, it is an entity the people of Shikoku will fight direly to protect.
That is, then, exactly the importance of the temple pilgrimage to the people of Shikoku. People created the pilgrimage, and gave it meaning, and continue to believe and practice a tradition handed down to them over time. The Kukai mythology simply cannot be divorced from the pilgrimage, so it must be admitted for what it is.
Books upon books and essays upon essays have been written on the beauty of traveling the Shikoku countryside while on the pilgrimage. It is more important, however, to consider the true history behind the pilgrimage, because this will be what the UNESCO council will consider. There are many places in the world with beautiful trees, tall hills, and old buildings. There are, however, only so many places in the world where locals and foreigners alike traverse the beautiful terrain in costumes while chanting and contemplating philosophy. It is this action--the very act of being a pilgrim along the way to ancient temples--that should be considered as a World Heritage.
