Nikko is a certified “world historic” site, therefore a major tourist destination. But the vast majority of the tourists are Japanese in search of their past. Not far away is an amusement park called Edo Wonderland, which is sort of an Old West town but instead of cowboys and Indians, you get samurai, geishas, etc. – all the artifacts of pre-Meiji (pre-Western) Japan. Sheryl, Madeleine and I visited this afternoon and were virtually the only Caucasians in sight.
This is the view from our hotel room at dawn.
Everyone, of course, is taking pictures. One of the key spots is the Sinkyo Bridge. Here a Japanese family and Madeleine are being photographed simultaneously.
A side angle of the bridge…
The Nikko National Park is the home of that gilded shrine Tosho-gu, which has the famous carving of the “see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil” monkeys. These young students are looking at it.
The shrines here are Tokugawa Period. Some think they are too gaudy. I understand their point, but I like them anyway. Besides they are built in magnificent cedar groves that seem majestic even to this Californian used to sequoias and redwoods.
PJM Home
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
7 Comments
1. dan cliff:Great pictures Roger. Have a wonderful time. Though the–”But the vast majority of the tourists are Japanese in search of their past”–seems a bit much. More projection than worthy analysis. The past is always present in Japan, just the ratios differ a bit from place to place; and I very much doubt many, if any, of those whose paths you crossed today are “searching.” Enjoying, learning, relaxing, vacationing, dating, spending a day in the mountains cooling-off, making-up, (pre or post) making-out, making some yen (legally and illegally), celebrating, praying, grieving, painting, photographing, eating and drinking, reuniting. These kinds of things, but “searching” is doubtful.
Yamaarashi (who can’t remember his typekey password and thus has posted using a friend’s instead.)
Aug 20, 2005 - 5:43 am 2. Buddy Larsen:The way that the long shot of the bridge, with its red arc against diagonals progressing through the blues and greens, is the first I can remember in a long time that has struck me as “Wow, that’s the most beautiful picture I’ve ever seen!” The narrative integrates perfectly–rushing water thru mountains, a bridge. Japan cannot possibly be as beautiful as its photographs suggest. I oughtta go look.
Aug 20, 2005 - 11:31 am 3. redhotsugarpop:Thanks for sharing the pictures. I have been to Yosemite National Park and reveled in the splendor of the Sequoias and Redwoods. The forest at Nikko National Park must be breathtaking. I think they might rendor me speachless!
Aug 20, 2005 - 1:20 pm 4. MarkD:Buddy,
Many parts of Japan are that beautiful. Some parts are a concrete jungle.
I have a picture of my wife in front of Ginkakuji in Kyoto that is absolutely gorgeous. Kyoto is touristy, but not to be missed. We went there on our honeymoon almost 30 years ago, and stopped off for a day when we went back three years ago.
Miyajima is beautiful.
I always liked Kintai bridge and castle in Iwakuni.
They built some horrible elevated roadway through the rice field in front of my in-law’s house in Higashi-Hiroshima. That ruined a scenic view of the mountains. What used to be a small country village is now a University town with its own Shinkansen station.
When I first met my wife’s parents, I was the only Caucasian in sight. Now it is not unusual to see even people in Arab garb strolling through the local mall…
You should go. Japan has a unique charm, and the language is not that big of a barrier. The only drawback is that it is fairly expensive.
Aug 20, 2005 - 1:40 pm 5. Wallace:Nice photos Roger. For some reason in the last several years [maturity I suppose] I have found myself more interested in visiting rural Japan.
Aug 20, 2005 - 7:31 pm 6. Studebaker Hawk:Yes, sometimes it’s hard to understand the juxtaposition of the sublime with the kitsh one encounters in Japan. I agree with Yamaarashi that this signifies that the Japanese are completely comfortable with their past (WWII notwithstanding) and don’t have any problems with the new and old existing side by side.
Someone mentioned Miyajima, and it is indeed a masterpiece of architecture and setting. The thing I most remember about Miyajima, however was the fire that had been tended by the monks and kept burning for 1200 years. This shows, I think, that the term historical has a different meaning in Japan than the US. And here too were numerous gift shops selling all types of tourist souveniers, from tacky keychains to nice pottery and wood carvings.
The Nikko shrine contains the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the great shogun and unifier of Japan. I went there as part of a group of foreign kendoka during a break in our kendo (Japanese fencing) training seminar in Kitamoto, Saitama generously hosted by the Zen Nihon Kendo Remmei (All Japan Kendo Federation). While the whole site was beautiful, we were mostly interested in the 400 year old kendo hall (still in use).
Aug 22, 2005 - 11:10 am 7. Ephraim:FYI regarding the monkeys:
In Japanese, “See not, hear not, speak not” can be said as follows:
“Mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru”
The thing is, this is a pun: in Japanese, “saru” means “monkey”, which, when used in a combination with other words becomes “-zaru” for ease of pronunciation. Thus, the monkeys of Toshogu.
Aug 22, 2005 - 10:11 pm