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Japan's new entry system, farming, moss, bonsai, marathon monks, Kyoto's oldest buildings!

Bunraku theater is an Osaka or Tokyo experience!

The big Japan travel news this week concerns a new system for entering Japan called JESTA. Basically, you have to pre-register for your 90-day tourist visa. The rule applies to the 71 nations that currently get tourist visas by default or via immigration brokers or other.

The new JESTA system is said to be based on the US ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) program, which was introduced not long after 9/11. JESTA will determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to Japan under the Visa Waiver Program, the Japanese version, which the government has tentatively named JESTA.

The system has been designed for one purpose: to reduce the number of illegal immigrants "hiding" in wealthy Japan. The United States has an even larger issue on its southern border. And Europe is also being "swamped" by new people from Africa.

From a humanitarian viewpoint these international travel pre-registration mandates for entry are one way for nations and regions to deal with too many so-called illegal immigrants. And as form of screening those from wealthy backgrounds or countries from those who are no longer welcome (as Thailand has begun to do with "backpackers"). Climate change will create millions more and economic challenges in the poorest parts of the world will just add to the situation.

Japan is lucky being an island nation. You can't swim there . . . So JESTA is no big deal and 90 day tourist visas will continue to be issued to all (or say 90%).

The rest of this blog entry provides great reads about:

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

Japanese Farming: Old worlds & new horizons

The Japanese countryside is a world of the distant past. And no major Japanese city offers access to the countryside like Kyoto.

The core of Japanese farm life revolves around the rice cycle: planted in June and harvested in September. But in the Japanese countryside, no matter when you go, you will also see women in the fields in traditional clothing, lots of old buildings, nature in abundance, and space space space . . .

Mizuo, Shikibigahara & Koshihata: Located in an exquisite isolated valley a little northwest of Arashiyama (home of the famous Bamboo Forest), these three villages feature terraced rice fields, superb mountain views, really unique village worlds.

Kumogahata: The villages of Kumogahata (Field of Clouds) are at the source of Kyoto’s main river, the Kamogawa. There are actually three villages and ancient farmhouses. The area is 30-min north of Demachiyanagi Station by bus (#37).

Ohara: Besides its famous Buddhist temples from centuries past, Ohara (Kyoto Bus #17, #18 from Kyoto Stn. or Sanjo Station) is an exquisite area to see rural Japanese living. Two areas are recommended for long walks. One is the area stretching parallel to the main road southeast along the upper slopes of the east side of the valley from the Sanzen-in area. The other area is along the narrow road running north along the west side of the valley.

If you are in Tokyo then the best countryside destinations are a bullet train ride away. The leafy forests of Tochigi Prefecture. The amazings of Shizuoka Prefecture just west of Tokyo: think, thatched farmhouses, tea fields with views of Mount Fuji, wasabi horse radish farms, and killer sunsets on the west side of the Izu Peninsula (hot spring heaven; great contemporary museums; hang gliding; scuba diving with sharks!).

Japanese moss & bonsai gardens and moss balls

After the late August | early September typhoons and the rain they bring, Japanese moss (“koke”) and bonsai gardens are full of life and lushness once more . . . And moss balls, where ever you may find, see or look for them are creative wonders (and very trendy as unique apartment greenery . . .).

The best moss gardens are in Kyoto. Saiho-ji Temple, “Moss Temple,” on the west side of Kyoto, has 120 varieties of moss, and all of them grow there naturally! Then the Zen complexes of both Daitokuji Temple and Tofukuji temple have world class ancient moss gardens.

For bonsai the highly central Happoen Gardens are exceptional. Some of their bonsai are 500 years old! And the pond garden also has mossy sections, tea ceremony options. The modern café terrace overlooking the gardens are perfect in September! [If you really want see lots of bonsai Omiya Bonsai Village is just north of Tokyo, and the Kinashi Bonsai Village is a good day trip from Osaka . . .]

Recently, koke-dama or moss balls have become very popular for adding moss in your house | apartment or garden. They are especially popular with young people. Originating in 17th century Japan as a unique development from the ancient Chinese art of bonsai, kokedama, are made of peat (compost will also do) and bound very tightly with string. And then moss is grown all over the ball. For plants and moss, the root system of a plant is packed in a moss-covered peat ball . . .

Mount Hiei’s marathon monks & Ikkyu’s wild Zen lifestyle

The marathon monks live in a small mountain monastery below the fabled world of Enryaku-ji Temple, the Tendai sect of Esoteric Buddhism. High on Mount Hiei, which "guards" Kyoto's northeastern corner, these monks worship a diety known as Fudo Myo-o (the Wrathful King of Mystic Knowledge in Shingon Buddhism). Their spiritual Olympic feats began in 1787 when a monk named So-o had a powerful religious experience in a waterfall on the mountain. After his vision he carved a wooden statue of Fudo Myo-o from a log he found under the falls. So-o was the first to complete the marathon course. He believed that everything was a manifestation of Buddha and was a great lover of the pure and simple natural world versus the world of man (not pure and generally not simple).

By now the reader is probably beginning to wonder, what did these monks have to do in order to complete the “marathon”? They had to complete three cycles of intense chanting, and worship requiring them to run a spiral course of locations spread out all over the endless slopes of Mount Hiei. The first cycle was 100 days, the second 300 days and the last one 1,000 days. Since the late 19th century, less than 50 monks have actually completed all three cycles.

The gyoja (training marathon monk) wear a pure white robe and hat and straw sandals. The basic rules of the kaihogyo (for any of the cycles) are pretty straightforward: 1) when running, the robe and hat may not be taken off; 2) one can not leave the designated course; 3) one can not stop for rest or refreshment during the run; 4) everything (prayers, chants, etc.) must be completed properly; 3) no smoking or drinking is allowed.

The remarkable thing is that the 40 km daily run is done at night! After meditation and chanting, they have a small meal at 1:30 and then they start running the course. They finish in the morning between 7 and 9. Then, they pray more, have a bath and eat lunch. The rest of the day is devoted to other services and work around the temple. They are only allowed to sleep about 4 hours a night (between 8 and midnight). They must do this amazing course for 100 days in a row. It takes the average monk about 70 days to get used to everything and get their “second wind.”

If one has completed the first 100-day cycle, only then can one petition to undertake the 1,000-day cycle. This takes a total of seven years to complete (less than 50 have ever completed this cycle). Near the end of the 1,000-day cycle, comes one of the biggest challenges: the doiri: no food, water or sleep or rest of any kind for 7 days straight. In the old days it used to be 10 days, but since hardly any monks at all survived, it was shortened to 7 days. Water is obtained through the skin by being in the moist air on the mountain. The really hard part of these nine days is not food or water but staying awake and in the proper posture. It is said that after surviving the doiri the monk has really overcome death and they return to life with a level of sensitivity that goes far beyond what wild animals are able to sense. Indeed, physical examinations after the seventh day indicated that many of the symptoms of death were present.

In the final year of the 1000-day cycle, the gyoja must complete two 100-day cycles during which they run 84 kilometers each day. To run or jog this distance takes about 16 hours. During the run it is also their duty to bless the people who line the route. The final initiation is a 100,000 prayer fast and fire ceremony which takes place two or three years after the finish of the 1000-day marathon.

Ikkyu: another view of spiritual life

Ikkyu was a Zen monk who was famous for burning the candle of life at both ends. By day, he was devout and extremely accomplished monk and scholar. By night, he reveled in the so-called “floating world” of drink and women. He lived in tumultuous 15th century Japan at a time when most of the country was ruined by civil war.

Ikkyu was born the illegitimate son of an emperor and a court lady. As a boy he already displayed remarkable abilities and intelligence. He was particularly attracted to Chinese culture which he absorbed and used for the rest of his life in his poetic imagery. He was not good looking. His Zen apprenticeship began at age 13 at Kennin-ji Temple, Kyoto’s oldest Zen temple, located, ironically, just south of the first-class world of wine and women: Gion. From a young age, he took naturally to criticizing the world of hypocrisy he saw around him in temples and in the ruling families of his day.

His first spiritual master, Keno, lived in an old rundown temple on Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake (in Shiga Prefecture, just east of Kyoto). He spent much of his life on the shores of the lake. When Keno died, he moved in the Daitoku-ji branch temple headed by the monk Kaso. To support the temple, which also had little money, he crafted dolls which he sold in Kyoto. From this time onwards he also began to spend much of his free time in the local taverns, brothels and fishing huts.

He achieved enlightenment while listening to a band of blind singers performing a tragic love ballad on the shores of the lake. From that time, he took the name Ikkyu, which literally translated means One Pause. He wrote this poem just after reaching enlightenment the first time.

From the world of passions,

returning to the world of passions.

There is a moment’s pause --

if it rains, let it rain,

If the wind blows let it blow.

Apparently in the summer of 1424, he experienced enlightenment a second time while meditating in a fishing boat when he heard the call of lone crow at twilight. His master issued him a certificate of enlightment the second time and this caused Ikkyu to storm out of the temple in disgust. Nevertheless, Kaso hoped to make Ikkyu his heir when he died. Ikkyu cared for him in his dying days, going as far as to clean the old man’s excrement with nothing but his hands. Another monk was given the position of heir and Ikkyu began a long period of wandering.

He wandered around for 30 years until he was nearly 60. During this time, he saw himself as a crazy cloud and increasingly identified with the philosophy of the monk Rinzai, founder of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism and Daito (founder of the Daitoku-ji monastery Ikkyu would one day be the head abbot of). He married and had a son, who went on to become of the Japan’s most respected tea masters. Indeed, Daitoku-ji Temple is closely connected with the Japanese tea ceremony even today.

Like Rinzai he had long hair and beard. However, unlike Rinzai and much of the monk and samurai establishment, Ikkyu rejected the traditional life of the men of his day. He took female students and considered them his equal. He also drank wine, ate animal flesh and had many female lovers. In his late years, he became a prominent practitioner and patron of the arts, including calligraphy, painting, poetry, which he practiced as a way to transmit Zen.

In 1474, when Ikkyu was in his late seventies and had a 30-year-old blind composer musician mistress, the emperor ordered him to become the head abbot of prestigious Daitoku-ji Temple. The temple had nearly been destroyed by the Onin Wars that raged across Kyoto for more than 15 years. It was a tough task, but he succeeded. Seven years later, the temple had nearly been restored and Ikkyu died.

Natural, reckless, correct skill;

Yesterday's clarity is today's stupidity

The universe has dark and light, entrust oneself to change

One time, shade the eyes and gaze afar at the road of heaven.

Kyoto Prefecture’s Oldest Wooden Buildings

When the global or armchair traveler thinks of the world’s oldest buildings many of the same images come to mind. And all of them are made of stone. Indeed the wonder of much of civilization’s historical gifts rests in the power of stone. But there is also wood and when it comes to wood no country in world, except Tibet, rivals the Japanese monuments that have withstood the forces of time and mother nature’s (also known as Gaia) sudden anger in the form of earthquakes, storms, fire and tidal waves.

According to the strictest historical studies, Tibet and Japan rival each other for what is considered to be the absolutely oldest existing wooden building on the planet. Tibet is home to the Lhasa Jokhang temple complex dating to roughly the mid-7th century. In Japan, there is no doubt that the oldest standing wooden structures are those of the mid-7th-century Horyu-ji Temple complex, slightly southeast of the Nara. Of course, an infinite line of wooden buildings have disappeared in the sands of time. Time herself does her work and wood slowly fades away. In Japan the two really big wooden building (even wooden city) killers are fires and earthquakes.

Indeed, fire is probably the biggest destroyer of all when it comes to wooden buildings. Imagine, if you will, a huge temple or palace complex in the 7th century at night. The building is not dark, not at all. Light is everywhere in the form of candles. Combine that reality with a mild earthquake, a strong gust of wind, or the careless drunken stumble of everyone from the servants to the priests and princes and you have the beginnings of disaster in the middle of the night when everyone is fast asleep.

Major earthquakes also claimed their share of grand buildings. Indeed the grandest Japanese structures of all were turned into short lived realities in the middle of the Heian period (794-1185). Only Sanjusangendo (see list) can come close to the immense size of these wooden structures. But unlike Sanjusangendo, many of these departed vast buildings were also multi-storied. Master builders learned their lesson the hard way when it came to earthquakes and then quickly changed their designs.

If you look closely at the super big wooden buildings of Kyoto then you consider these 3 things: 1) the structure rests firmly on stone pads that sit right on the ground and the weight of the tiled top structure pushes straight down with immense weight; 2) the wooden jigsaw puzzle that towers above and around you does not have a single nail in it; its all intricate joinery work and these joints are quite flexible when the earth decides to move violently; 3) and no power tools were used to create these wonders; think about that for a moment!

The ten oldest structures in Kyoto Prefecture

952: Daigo-ji pagoda: located in the Daigo-ji Temple complex; near Daigoji Station on the Tozai line; east side of Kyoto.

1010: Ujigami Shrine: located on the north side of the Uji River, about 40 min. southeast of Kyoto on the Keihan line (change at Chushojima).

1052: Byodoin Temple Phoenix Hall: located on the south side of the Uji River, about 40 min. southeast of Kyoto on the Keihan line (change at Chushojima).

1165: Koryu-ji Temple lecture hall: located on the west side of Kyoto a little east of Arashiyama.

1212: Kozan-ji Temple’s Sekisui-in sub-temple: located in northwestern Kyoto not far from the Shugakuin Imperial Villa.

1266: Sanjusangendo Temple: located in southeastern Kyoto about a kilometer east of Kyoto Station.

1310: Tofuku-ji Zen complex zendo, tosu and yokushitsu: located in southeastern Kyoto; 1.5 kilometers southeast of Kyoto Station.

1440: Yasaka Pagoda: located on the east side of the Gion district.

1485: Ginkaku-ji Temple Togudo study hall and Kannon-den Silver Pavilion: located in northeastern Kyoto at the top of the Path of Philosophy.

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!