Togakushi Shrine

8/6/2019 Togakushi Shrine

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/togakushi-shrine 1/10

Togakushi Shrine

Togakushi is a village located in a district called Kamiminochi, in the pristine highlands of Nagano Prefecture.A village replete with a long history in the aesthetics of art, nature, and religion is thesite of a power spot and three venerated shrines tucked away in a mountainous region.Both Togakushi and Hoko Shrines (戸隠神社、宝光社) are two of the three shrines.

(Both shrines were built under orders from a powerful Emperor)

When I think of some of the places I have visited, and the cultural enormity of suchplaces I am humbled. Some of us seek out holy places in order to find newerperspectives and ideas about living. I have paid respects at some of Japan's most holyplaces and these two shrines are definitely a couple of the best.

Sometimes the path to greater understanding starts at the foot a broken stone stairway, or an uneven pathleading up to a high place. Weather worn, and withstanding the test of time, this avenue of beautiful cryptomeriahas no equal in scale anywhere in the world. Walking a path lined with over 40 miles of tall cedar is aweinspiring. The national tree, Cryptomeria, is a true Japanese cedar originating on this island nation for whatseemed timeless ages ago. This Avenue of Cryptomeria stands as a symbol of the will of one poor man who,

without anything to offer in terms of material wealth, created this enormous avenue of cedar trees as an offeringto the Daimyo.



Gigantic Cedars

As I cautioned each step alongthis pristine path I felt as if I were

being tested. My thoughts wereexposed and I was naked before

the world. A human spectacle forall the whole world to see. Anaked spectacle of shame and

beauty. I have lived here on thisearth and in this form as a merehuman being for a meager 30+years. What wisdom have I toteach the tree...? Each step Itook I could hear peebles andstones give way under my feet,and with each sound as the

burdens of my desires weighed

down heavily upon me.

I was making my way up tothe main alter of theshrine and the way uplooked easy in the

beginning, but was alot tougher than I hadexpected. TogakushiShrine is a famouspower spot, perhapsthe most powerful I haveexperienced. I have visited manypower spots in Japan . A powerspot is place where you can feelenergy all around you. How that'sdefined is unclear scientifically.For me, it's just being there, in the

presence of some amazing cedarsand smelling the aroma of jasminein the air. The cool breeze wasfull of the smell of evergreen and

some exotic flowers coupled withthe nostalgia of having some sort

of ' Avatar' experience.

Most Japanese whomake the journey thisfar aren't here for any

other reason than to offer up aprayer for something reallyspecial, unlike other shrine visitswhere it's just a typical prayer forsafety and better test scores. Thegods that rule these shrines areknown for bestowing blessings of love and happiness.



The Journey Continues......

If you walk from Hosho shrine to the main shrine at the top, the total walk time is about two hours. Mostpeople drive or take a bus to the main entrance near the top of the mountain. From there, it’s a thirty minutewalk through a lush green paradise of mammoth cedar and stone road.

The stone road seemed endless, but as we continue walking I would gaze up from time to time to catch thesight of how tall these cedar were. Trees really do serve to protect you fromthe sun and keep the air cool all around you. From this point I slowed mypace a little. Walking has always been the best way to clear my head and torefresh myself. My thoughts flowed so fluidly and with little distractions.They were pleasant thoughts. When people walk such a road to make thatone all important prayer they reflect on themselves a bit more. They go overwhat they want to pray for, and how they want to pray for it; one clap, a

bow..or two claps and a bow...? I was meditating on what I wanted to pray forand on how sincere it really meant to me.

The prayer from an earnest heart is important. The righteous prayer is the most effective , I once heard. Forme, of course, it’s the usual. Knowing myself, my heart was full of the Jukujo and big legs. And am also aware

that these thoughts are impure and borderline on sacrilegious, but they're sincerely earnest prayers. The wholeway up my eyes were accosted by lovely women of an older pursuasion. There was so much determination inthe air as they made their way up to the high point of the mountain. I was blessed.

The next big challenge came when we had to climb what seemed and endless set of uneven stone stairs.



Holy Boundaries

Special ropes and hanging tassles (shimenawa) andstrips of white paper (gohei ) date back to ancienttimes when they were used to mark off sacred placesto ward off evil spirits.



d



IntrospectionThe bridge always symbolizes a transition or a separation from a place, or something. A portal that can either

lead you somewhere better, or worse. For me, the bridge symbolizes a coming together point.

I have always extolled the virtues of reconciliation between the spirit, mind, body, and soul. Judea Christianvalues teach us that the spirit man and physical man are opposing elements of our

being. I feel we mustn't separate one from the other because one without the othercauses us to loose a piece of ourselves and our humanity. The love of the flesh whenit's at it’s prime is sublime and exquisitely beautiful. There's simply no comparison.

Artist and musicians have written lyrical prose for centuries extolling the beauty of the physical body, and then likening it unto some heavenly manifestation of sorts. As aresult of centuries of human evolution our species have come to a crossroads, which hashad an effect on our own belief systems. Contemporary religions of the West have

begun to embrace a more humanistic approach to god and are beginning to except that love can transcend any boundary, even with same sexes.

Religions of the Far-East are also feeling the wheels of progress challenge age old traditional values and evenold mind sets. It is natural for the human being to reconcile the elements of himself that have been so forcefullycondemned and torn apart by religious dogma, and (un)pragmatism. Love is spiritual. Sex is spiritual.Having the power to create is a sexual action. Beauty is healing, things like that.



Parum clari fiant sollemnes in per clari fiant.

Togakushi can be enjoyed all seasons. In the winter this river is partially frozen in silent bliss, with only atrickling water flow. The whole avenue is covered in soft white snow, like a carpet stretching for miles. InSpring, you can still see snow, but it’s scattered about in patches, and the air is brisk and chilly. The summer youcan see a carpet of green all over the whole area, and you can hear cicadas and see insectsabound all round. For me, summer is best. I think summer offers the best mother naturehas in terms of flora and fauna.



Togakushi Shrine



( The lion dog is called komainu and it the guardian of this shrine).

Gods who rule this area: Ame nou waharu nomikoto (天表春命) Yago koroomoi kanenomi koto, enshrined

here with the power to bless those to have art skills, relationships, and safe child delivery, and to protect from

disaster and family happiness Below is a map leading up to the Okusha, the forest reserve along with where

each shrine and god is located.



Closing

A client who recommended this place to me told me of an experience where he saw a foreigner wearingheadphones the whole way up. He said what a waste is was to cover up the sound of nature at its finest.

The sounds and smells were ethereal for me. Complete and total rapture. Gone to my ethereal home wasTogakushi for me. I left with a new perspective about life. I’d say I am more of what I was before, even bolder.

The best way to access this area is by car. From Nagano station is takes about 30 minutes to reach. Buses arealso available. All information regarding times and English assistance is available at the station. I recommendstarting early in the morning with a nice brisk hike around the area. It isn’t very common you get to hike indensely wooded areas. There are plenty of facilities for food and restrooms.

Togakushi Shrine

Documents

Transcript of Togakushi Shrine