Red or Green
It was fat and it was fast. If you blinked you would have missed it entirely. There should have been a farmer wielding a stick as he chased the snorting boar that ran across my path, but seconds after the stubby body disappeared into the brush, the only thing that came into site was a large group of pilgrims, panting heavily as they climbed the steep hill to the next temple.
A handful of steps later, thoughts of the wild pig changed back to thoughts of the path.
The pilgrim guidebook has options. Following the red dotted line, or main path, is the most frequent. For those more adventurous, Japan’s Ministry of Environment has put together a green dotted route. This color leads to more scenic, less crowed, albeit longer walks. The green path to Temple 10 (Kirihata-ji) ran parallel to the main path, however it took you through working rice fields and quiet neighborhoods. Following the green led us to two discoveries; first, many people will assume you are lost and try to direct you back to the red path, and secondly you will get many o-setti (probably because they feel sorry that you are lost). Either way, the green path seems to be the way to go.
O-settai is the action of giving small gifts to pilgrims on foot. These can be refreshments, money, places to rest, meals, or even a place to stay. At Temple 9 (Hōrin-ji) a senior lady gave us candy o-settai, but she cheerfully refused our o-sama fudas (name slips offered in exchange for o-settai). Another man gave each of us each small flashlight keychains. Just yesterday the thought came to mind to acquire a flashlight for camping. At temple 10 we met Ruth, an American living in Sweden who has done the pilgrimage 3 times. The last being only fall of 2015. I get her.
Henro Huts are small shelters made available by the local authorities where pilgrims can rest. They can range from a simple bench to elaborate constructions complete with water and power. Today we saw a great two story henro hut. Later, we cleaned up another hut that looked “sad”. After sweeping up the dust and hanging an abandoned sugegasa (hat) on the wall, the hut felt ready to warmly welcome new pilgrims.
Walking to temple 11 through the same landscape of 9 years ago felt familiar, but the new vegetation and farmers busily harvesting their crops of radishes gave it an energy that the hot autumn sun did not.
We stopped at a grocery store for lunch and ate our food in the laundromat next door. On the way out of the parking lot, an older woman not only bowed smiling, she outright waved enthusiastically. Those reactions & friendliness towards us is heartwarming.
Ran into Locklin from Australia. He made the idea of camping feel a little more comfortable. Having camped, he had an ease about it, a confidence, but also a respect for where to set up camp.
April 10, 2016 - Temples 9 & 10
