第五日 篠栗八十八ヶ所 (2)

 

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天気予報になかった（？）雨がふったらしく、道は濡れている。用心に小さい折りたたみ傘をもってお遍路さん２日目をスタートする。８８ケ所あるお寺のうち、お客を寄せるノウハウがあり、潤っているお寺は恐らく１０本の指で十分数えられるほどしかない、というのが私の印象だ。

ひょっとすると５本でも十分かもしれない。札所の一番であり、横になっている大きな仏様で有名な南蔵院が恐らくトップ中のトップ。ここは拝観料もとらないが、その代わり寝姿のブッダの入り口でソフトアイスクリームが売られていて、ブッダを眺められる位置に座れる席が３０も用意されている。

来る人来る人がアイスクリームを買い求め、座ってアイスクリームをなめている。ブッダの目前でぺろぺろ舐めるなんてお行儀悪い、とは南蔵院のお坊さんは思わないらしい。

もっともブッダも横になられリラックスしてるのだから「ま、いいか・・・」ってことなのかな？？何とも心憎いサービスというか、商売上手！

一方小さな札所は近隣の方が納経所となり、管理しているか、そういう方もいまやなさそう、と思われる札所もあって、すっかり荒れ果て、ホコリをかぶっている。小さくても、お像が清潔に保たれていると、なにかほっとするし、もう長い事誰もお参りに来てないような札所はいかにも時の流れに飲み込まれているようで寂しい限りだ。

今日もワルターの計算では３５０００歩歩いたということなので、私の短い脚だと３８０００歩にはなっているかな？と思っている。折りたたみ傘は出番のない快晴だった。    

It had rained lightly during the night and in the morning a fresh wind almost blows us off the narrow path on which we start our second day of hiking. It was actually supposed to be "only" 17 kilometres, but somehow the chief navigator made a (slight) mistake and it ended up being 26 kilometres.

We follow Hirota-san's hiking map and only fail to find one path, which is totally overgrown and no longer recognisable as a path. After just 100 metres we give up and take the slightly longer route on a forest path. As yesterday, well-preserved and well-kept temples alternate with those that have been badly damaged by the ravages of time.

Longer stretches today lead along "real" old pilgrim paths through vast bamboo forests, where there is a loud noise every few seconds. No, it's not bears ambushing us, it's just the bamboo "growing". After we have conquered the first mountain with some difficulty, we have to cross the noisy main road and climb another 300 metres in altitude. At the top is the "Owl Temple", or Fukuro in Japanese.

Fukuro means "owl" in Japanese. A second meaning is "free from worries", just like the famous castle in Potsdam/Germany.

Already a little weak in the legs, we reach the highlight of the pilgrimage, the "Reclining Buddha". 

In a single moment, I manage to photograph it without any tourists. It is teeming with visitors, including many foreigners, who must have had apparently behaved so badly in the past that almost everything they did here is forbidden: No drones, no selphie stick, no video, no shouting around, no tattoos, no shorts, no "breezy" clothes etc.

Yes, the bronze statue (41 metres long and weighing 300 tonnes) is not easily forgotten.It dates back to 1899 and is dusted off every New Year by hundreds of hard-working people with feathers on long sticks. Come and have a look. It's worth it.

Today could actually end here, but according to Hitota-san's map we have one more mountain to climb. From its highest temple we stagger to the railway station, from where the train departs before our eyes. The next one arrives in 30 minutes! O.K. If it has to be!!

Clean the toilet, otherwise ........

Bummmm!