The Sacred and Profane

     Promptly arrived for the 9:40 Bullet Train in Shinagawa Station at 9:30: The 10 Japanese members of JANZ (Japan Australia New Zealand) Ladies were visibly relieved. Obento lunch boxes distributed, hot drinks available from nattily dressed snack-sellers pushing pretty carts and bowing at the exit. Hurtled southwest with a change at Nagoya, then a coach ride to Japan's holiest Shinto shrine known as Jingu (shrine). Since 4 BC pilgrims have trekked to this hamlet (which bears an uncanny resemblance to Tanglewood, Massachusetts, in high season) to worship the Sun Goddess by the Isuzu River. Fleets of workers pruned trees, raked the grounds and tended the huge park.

     "Please remember our bus number," implored Sacho-san (JANZ president) as we fell in behind bus loads of other visitors. "How lucky to have the only English speaking tour guide." For centuries this shrine is rebuilt every 20 years in order to train a new generation of builders. (The next shrine will be unveiled in 2013.) Trudging along the winding gravel path to the altar evoked a similar one in Tokyo that leads to the 19th c. Meiji Jingu. "Gravel slows your pace and alerts the spirits of your approach," the guide explained.

    Climbing ancient stone steps to the altar we each threw a coin into the money box, bowed twice, clapped hands twice, made a wish and closed with a bow. Why the security guard?  "He is making sure that no one takes photos," was the answer. "Also, he helps with crowd control."  Relics (i.e. the Emperor's Holy  Mirror) are out of bounds for commoners. The sudden, lucky appearance of wild deer sparked a paparazzi-like reaction from visitors. Trees girdled with bamboo deter enthusiastic visitors from peeling bark; instead, blessings with specific powers (protection against traffic accidents, success in academics, safe childbirth) may be purchased from shrine maidens on the way out. "Rub the second pillar on the bridge for luck!"  Outside the torii (gate), the high street was roaring. Next stop:  the Wedded Rocks (Meoto Iwa) that represent the chief Shinto gods, tied together like spouses by a one ton rope, forever in the ocean.      

     Off for the evening to Thalassa Shima Resort, with a panoramic view of the bay. My room-mate (the other American) unpacked a bottle of sake; we watched a bit of Jane Fonda in "Julia" (1977).  At dinner I sat with a 77 year old chef: "I've been teaching cookery for 50 years," she confided. "Including a special course for men." The most petite women packed in the most mouthfuls of dinner, including loaves of seaweed bread. Everyone was ready for a morning at Mikimoto Pearl Island, which turned out to be a barge along a polluted river off a highway. Divers are all female due to two factors: An extra layer of fat and capacious lungs that can dive deep without O2. A bit of retail therapy, then back on the Bullet Train where Mt Fuji made a cameo appearance in the clear evening light.

     How nice to bring back a blessing, an envelope of sacred sand and a box of miso flavored Kit Kats from Nagoya.