🌸 Noire Henro-san: After Shikoku

I’m home.

During the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage, which I began at Ryozen-ji, temple 1, and ended at the same place, I took a mini-grand tour of Japan. I visited a few islands in the Seto Inland Sea: Hiroshima, Omishima, Naoshima, and Miyajima. Afterwards, I made the ultimate journey to Koyasan, to pay my respects and thank Kōbō Daishi for helping me complete my walk. Then I firmed it up by going to Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Tokyo and Kyoto.

Why Walk Shikoku 88 pilgrimage

Pilgrims walk the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage temple trek for many reasons. For some it is a continuation of religious or spiritual rituals or similar obligations. There may be a desire to experience Japanese cultural identity. . . to see how life’s challenges are handled here. It may be as dedication to ancestors. It might be an effort to ensure an easy afterlife.

I learned about Buddhism and its relationship to the Shinto religion, Japan and its people. The history of the country came alive. I learned that people are the same all over the world. Their resiliency after disasters and near annihilation serves as a reminder that when people are determined, they will survive and thrive.

Importantly, I observed myself in many different situations. In those difficult few, I did not panic but accepted them as part of a process that I partially understood. Only going through it would I have an opportunity to put everything together and find the benefit of it all.

The stages

Understanding the stages or dojos of the pilgrimage aids in reinforcing why we are here as ohenro. The stages, also called dojos, correspond to the four respective prefectures of Shikoku island. Tokushima, Kochi, Ehime, and Kagawa.

• Awakening
• Asceticism
• Enlightenment
• Nirvana

Mostly, I was a lone ohenro. I started out early in the morning, bid goodbye to my hosts, and continued on my way from temple to temple. Each day was an exercise in finding the next place to lay my head. All the while, I did my best to remain mindful and in the present. A long stretch in Kochi prefecture and Golden Week tested me. Facing my plight and releasing my fears helped steady my mind. I found a way and a few nice places to stay.

kibou 
希望
(hope)
🌹

Yes, I came to this place which is a mix of tradition and contradiction to witness how it all came together, I consoled myself with the realization that we are all the same. Also, I learned that the stages are the stages of life that humans experience, often, without paying attention.

Ohenro on Shikoku 88 pilgrimage

I met ohenro from Taiwan, Germany, France, Switzerland, China, Korea, Australia, Italy, and Brazil. As time went on, I met a few Americans.

Pilgrims on Shikoku 88 pilgrimage started their walk at any one of the temples or Koyasan. I met a few who walked the path in reverse for double or triple blessings. A few rode bikes or motorcycles.

Most were Japanese women and men who walked for themselves and in the name of ancestors who also walked part or all of the pilgrimage trail.

Some ohenro do the pilgrimage more than once. There is a saying in Japanese: The first time is for my ancestors; the second time is for my family; the third time is for me.

I am not thinking about that anytime soon. In my case, I came here simply to become a better person. The sense of adventure and leaving my comfort zone completed the picture.

Start Again

I am home where I am resting, contemplating, and writing about my time in Japan. Am I finished? No. I will not say owarimashita (I am finished). I only know that when I come to the end of a task, quest, or pilgrimage, I soon find that it is just another beginning.   

Respect and peace.

°

This post concludes my chronicle where I walked the 1200 kilometer-long Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage.

If you want to read more about my trek in Japan, click through to
Noire Henro san post index: here

After the camino

If you missed it, this is what I wrote after I completed the camino de Santiago in Spain two years ago: here

Baadaye and Mata Ne (またね)

Shirley J ♥️