比叡山と高野山 Hieizan and Koyasan

伝統的な日本建築、文化を見みるなら昔の都、京都・奈良かなということで、イギリス人の夫を連れて旅をしました。ついでに欲張って比叡山と高野山にも足をのばしました。

To show traditional Japanese culture and architecture to my British husband, we went to Kyoto and Nara, old capital cities. And my ambitious plan included remote Hieizan and Koyasan -'san' or 'zan' means a mountain. 

比叡山は788年最澄（伝法大師）が開山した天台宗総本山で、最盛期には３千にも及ぶ寺院がひしめいていたそうです。1571年織田信長によって全山焼き討ちされ、全ては灰と化しましたが、その後再興して現在は150ほどの塔堂があります。

Hieizan (Mt.Hiei)  is the holy mountain headquarters of a Buddhist sect, Tendai. Saicho (Dengyo Daishi), the founder of Tendai Buddhism in Japan, established a temple on the mountain in 788. In the golden age of Hieizan, it was said to have had around 3000 temples crowding close upon one another. However, all the buildings were set on fire by Nobunaga Oda, a samurai warrior in 1571 and reduced to ashes. Later Hieizan was re-established and now houses about 150 temples.

比叡山には愛知県からわざわざ来てくれた友人夫婦と一緒に行きました。ケーブルカーの駅から山道を歩いてたどり着いた寺は喧噪からかけ離れた荘厳な雰囲気。寺建築に関係している友人がしてくれた説明がおもしろかったです。例えば、懸魚（けぎょ）－神社仏閣の屋根に取り付けた妻飾り。火除けの意味で魚を象徴－とか。ゆっくり回って点在する寺と自然を堪能できました。

そういえばおみくじひいたら、友人夫婦は両方「大吉」、そして私たち夫婦は両方「凶」でした。凶って滅多に出ないはずでは・・・。

比叡山の猿　A monkey in Hieizan

We went to Hieizan with my friend and his wife, who came all the way from Aichi prefecture to join us. Going up by funicular car, we followed a mountain pass to get to the temples. There was an atmosphere of solemnity away from the bustling cities. My friend was involved in architecture of temples and his knowledge was most interesting. For example, 'kegyo' is a fish-shaped ornament on the end of the gables of shrines and temples, designed to give psycological protection from fire. We enjoyed an unhurried walk, seeing the scattered temples and the beautiful natural environment.

By the way, we drew an omikuji, a fortune telling paper strip there. Both of my friends got  'Dai-kichi', excellent luck and both of us got 'Kyo', bad luck. I thought 'Kyo' papers were really rare to be picked.

高野山には奈良から約2時間半かかってたどり着きました。ケーブルカー駅からバスで急な坂を上がる途中「女人堂」を通りかかりました。1871年まで「女人禁制」で女性はその寺までしか登ることを許されなかったようです。

Another day, we extended our journey to Koyasan from Nara, which took about 2.5 hours. From a funicular station, we took a bus, going up steep slopes. On the bus, we passed by Nyonindo, the women's temple. Until 1871, no women were allowed to enter Koyasan and they were only admitted to Nyonindo.

高野山は空海（弘法大師）が開山した真言宗総本山で、816年嵯峨天皇からこの地を賜りました。現在は117の寺があり、有名な戦国武将を含めあらゆる人々の供養塔が数10万基と建ち並んでいます。 

Koyasan (Mt. Koya) is the holy mountain headquarters of a Buddhist sect, Shingon. Kukai (Kobo Daishi), the founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, was given permission to establish a monastic complex at Koyasan by the reigning Emperor Saga in 816. Now Koyasan holds 117 temples and tens of thousands of graves of various people from various eras including famous samurai warriors.

たくさんのお墓があるのは、奥の院と呼ばれる弘法大師御廟まで通じる参道の両脇。樹齢何百年の杉が高くそびえ、緑と墓に囲まれた参道を進むと別世界にいるような感じがしました。帰りは違う参道を通ってきたのですが、そこは比較的新しいお墓が立ち並んでいました。なかでも目を引いたのはコーヒーカップの形をしたお墓。斬新です。

The numerous tombs stood on both sides of the approach to the Mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, in the area called Okunoin. The path was surrounded by green and graves, which made me feel as if I were in another world. The towering hundreds of years old cedar trees looked especially impressive. We took a different path on the way back and found relatively newer graves there. The one that caught my eye was coffee cup shaped. Most innovative.