Thor in Kyoto?

Thor Week 1
October 25, 2001 - Seattle/Japan
"Contact?"


Dear Thor:

I’m smiling right now because I saw you in Kyoto today. However, I don’t remember you looking quite so (what’s the word ) fierce?

If you don’t believe me, that’s you in the picture.

I see you’ve changed your hair. It’s very (uhh what’s the word ) spiky? Is that the fashion in Japan? It’s so 80’s. And your make up is (again, I’m searching for the word ) dynamic? Strong? Uh expressive? Tammy Fae Bakker-ish? (You know I’m guessing that no matter how I describe it, I’m going to get in a lot of trouble.) Let’s just put it this way: I hardly recognized you! ;-)

I’m joking of course. The photo is of Raijin, the powerful Thunder God that’s placed at the entrance of the Sanju-Sangen-Do Temple in Kyoto. It stands with 28 other carved wooden statues that represent Guardian Deities that protect the 1001 golden statues of Buddha housed at the temple. The temple is one of the oldest and most significant temples in Japan dating back to the 8th Century.

I honestly never expected to run into "you" here. At the start, it seemed like a tour of yet another pretty temple or shrine. All of these national treasures are impressive and neat to see, but after a while, they start to run together into this mish-mash of pretty postcard photo-ops. To be honest, they probably were spiritually important at one time, but they’ve since been turned into "tourist traps" ­ all surface stuff, and no substance. Which is surprising since you would think that a place of worship would somehow touch you on a deeper level.

This place was different however. I couldn’t get over the fact that human hands had first built the huge temple and carved 1001 statues of Buddha. Then the people had the vision to carve another 28 wooden statues to protect them. When I walked into the place and saw the Raijin statue, my heart nearly stopped. I had gone through this entire week without any sign of you, and there you were, when I least expected it. It’s funny how Life works.

It’s not that this week has been a waste of time. Far from it. Japan has been incredible. I’m nearly fourth-generation Japanese American, so I’ve seen pictures of Japan and heard descriptions from my grandparents, but it’s a whole different thing to ‘experience" it. The sights and sounds of this country are beyond simple word descriptions, but I’ll try.

1) Tokyo ­ "Whirlwind" is the first word that comes to mind. There are 13 million people swirling around in frantic motion here. Everything is rush, rush, rush. Cars whizzing by, business people running on the street with cell phones, bright neon lights, Muzak blaring everywhere, exhaust fumes, women riding bikes with high heels, waves of people cramming themselves onto subways, and fish markets filled with a kaleidoscope of voices, signs, and fish everywhere.

2) Hakone was a peaceful break from the city being nestled in the volcanic mountains just west of Tokyo. I got to experience my first Japanese public bath here! Wow! The spring waters are naturally heated and they felt amazing. I enjoyed the experience so much, I went three times! I also got to see Mount Fuji during this part of the visit.

3) Kyoto is where I felt your presence the most. And it was actually after I saw the Raijin statue. I got separated from my family during two times today, and it was during those moments that I could sense you. I think it was because I was alone and didn’t need to be constantly talking. But I would see things and immediately want to turn around to show you. Of course you weren’t there, or at least I didn’t see you, however I could feel you. And that ­ more than seeing the Raijin statue ­ lets me know that I’m on the right path.

By the way, I’m having a great time spending time with family on this part of the Search. Mom’s here and so are three of her brothers and sisters. (She has 11 of them!) On this trip are Alley and his wife Yoshimi, Jane and her husband Joe, and Bill and his wife Sherry. My Aunt Kathy and her mother Rose are also here. One of the highlights of the trip was our first lunch in Tokyo. We went to the Keio Department Store where they have 8 floors of clothes and furniture and FOOD! The seventh floor had this open food market, so we all scrambled to these various booths to buy our lunches. Unfortunately there was no place to eat this food, so we plopped ourselves down on the stairway in the middle of the store. Apparently we weren’t supposed to do that because the shoppers walked by us with looks of horror and disgust. We just smiled back and ate our food.

Hopefully I'll have more family-bonding experiences like that in the upcoming week in Japan. I’ll write you again next week with all the details. Until then, be well, be present. And Namaste!

Scotty