Best memories are often linked to unexpected experiences. And so it was for Himeji: not planned in my first (2018) or second (2019) Japan trip.
In 2018 I noticed the city while traveling on a Shinkansen Nozomi bullet train: the vision of a wonderful white castle outside the window lasted just a glance.
In 2019, it was like I would find a train for Himeji every time and everywhere I’d go. So, one day, I literally jumped inside one of these trains when the doors were closing. “Do you want me to go to Himeji? Well, here we are”.
In the wagon, salarymen and salary women look ready for their working day. A couple of stops later, a Buddhist monk sits in front of me and I choose to interpret this event as a sign. “I’m on the right path”.
The doors open: “Himeji, Himeji desu!” the speaker repeats loudly. In the air, warm fragrances of food; the giant picture of a white tiger – pride of the local zoo – greets the travelers who leave the building. Like many other people, I exit from the station.
Suddenly the world around me turns off the sound: my senses disappear, made an exception for the sight. The hands tremble, the heartbeat changes becoming slow and strong like a drum hit… and something ancient awakes inside: I am unable to give it a shape or a name. Vivid memories of past eras and explanations appear in my dreams only many nights after.
In front of me, a wide avenue gives a clear view of the distant, majestic, Shirasagijo (the White Crane castle): it was named this way because of the elegance of its architecture. Its appearance recalls a living actor standing alone on the stage of the city. Nothing was able to destroy it: not the WWII bombing neither typhoons and fires nor the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Today is a sunny day.
I slowly reach the castle and here I have to take off my shoes in order not to spoil the original flooring: and now I am walking barefoot on four hundred years of history.
There is Beauty here, inside and outside: it’s Harmony and it’s Balance. It is something to experience in person because even the most technically flawless photos don’t give back a complete overview of this place or its atmosphere.
The inner structure is half-lighted and simple. Of the ancient slowing doors (called shoji) remain only the frame; a large number of weapon racks along the third-floor walls let us imagine how many warriors had attended this castle.
The real prize for the visitor comes on the fifth floor, after the last and steep ladder: a complete view of the defense walls, the modern city, and the hills around. Being here makes you feel like you were living in another era, separated from the “world outside”.
The highest floor is the smaller and the most crowded but here your breathing calm. People move slowly and neatly; someone stops his feet at the center of the room to pray at a little Buddhist altar… and I am wondering the countless hopes, desires, and thanksgivings it is collecting.
I exit from the castle and cross a flowered garden to reach the second area accessible to visitors: it’s one of the aisles ubicated inside the defense walls and formerly connected to the heart of Shirasagijo. The act of removing shoes becomes a ritual, useful to take a breath before driving yourself again in a different timeline. In this aisle the sensation is about calm, stability, warmth: maybe because of the few tourists; maybe because of the silence covered only by the croak of crows and creaking of flooring (this second one is historically wanted); maybe because the bright light of May entering through the windows and painting in gold the air. I set this image in my mind before saying greeting this caste: a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Walking back in direction of the train station, I reach the bus stop and get on board of the “8” to travel until its terminus, then I take a cable-way and after that, there is a long walk into the wood. Where am I going? I’m headed to the Engyō-ji, a temple of the Buddhist Tendai cult.
“Rasuto Samurai. Tomukurūzu!” says the woman at the ticket office, waving a map. It takes me some time to understand her words: yes, in this area were filmed a lot of sequences of the well-known “The Last Samurai” in which Tom Cruise (and Ken Watanabe) acted as the main character. But I am not here for that reason.
A row of small Buddha statues drives the pilgrim to the outermost temple where, among the trees, I also notice small red Shinto spaces. It looks as if in Japan one cult never rules out the other.
Listening to the symphony composed of birds singing and the rustle of leaves, I perceive a sad emotion coming from nature around me. I wonder if the sadness truly comes from the place or it’s a reflection of what I carry inside: I don’t have the answer.
When I face a massive Buddha statue and no one is around, I choose to pray creatively: I perform small sequence of a Tai Chi form while powerful energy pervades me.
Beautiful ancient temples emerge from the wood; hung on them there are Tibetan flags. It is unusual because the Tibetan issue causes embarrassment in Institutions and Governments; obviously, these flags indicate also the specific approach to the Buddhist philosophy of this place.
Visiting the last and bigger building my Soul finds peace. In front of the entrance, there is a colorful row of shoes that contrasts with the wooden structures around. I won’t describe the place here because I don’t want to give your mind the opportunity to build an image: I perceive this one like a place “to be”. Do you have the opportunity to stay here? If so, take a moment for yourself in the external aisle on the second floor. Seat here and listen to your Soul. It doesn’t matter if it is raining or snowing if the day is sunny or windy if the maple leaves are red or green.
Please, understand that I am not saying you have to cross the Word for a peaceful moment. Inner peace must be found in daily life, here we train for it. Above, I am describing the sense of reward at the end of walking meditation. Things like that can be experienced in so many places on this Earth! Far from the crazy run of the word, find a place where you feel safe and breathe deeply. Listen to yourself. Find a crack in your daily armor and look inside through it, searching for your inner self.
I am coming back when a lizard takes some step by my side, literally: I walk and it does the same, I stop and so it does. It allows me to caress twice its tiny head before running away. I lend attention to “unusual happenings” like this, even if I am not able to give a meaning: is this a benevolent spirit reminding me that “energetically” I am not walking alone?
My mind is calm and there’s only one thing I think about: this place invited me to slowness, reflection and silence. The visitor’s attention is focused on hic at nunc (here and now) and that’s right because the only thing really existing is the moment you’re living now.
© Photo by Irene Lorenzini
