Day 18 - Fukuroi And Kakegawa Post Towns, A Poem About Forgiveness, And A Bit About The Honjins Along The Tokaido Road In Japan
Day 18 - Fukuroi And Kakegawa Post Towns, A Poem About Forgiveness, And A Bit About The Honjins Along The Tokaido Road In Japan
Despite a restful night’s sleep, both Jules and I woke up feeling sick, with sore throats and runny noses.
We packed our backpacks and left at eight in the morning, after eating a rice ball and a banana each in our room.
Wendy and Joseph were going to meet us down the road, because they had already walked a part of the road yesterday.
Our backpacks are well balanced on our backs and they are so light.
I don’t think we have ever walked a long pilgrimage with such light backpacks.
But because both of us felt sick, we told ourselves that we should try to rest every hour for five minutes.
We walked for three hours without taking a single break.
I think that walking and the act of moving actually made us feel better than if we were lying in bed and resting.
I believe that walking gets the body’s circulation going and promotes faster healing.
In Fukuroi Juku we spent some time translating the Kokin Wakashū, a Collection of Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times.
These poems were written on thin slats of wood in the center of Fukuroi.
Next to these poems was a sculpture of an owl, representing the spirit of a beloved person in your life who had departed the earthly realm.
We have started seeing owls everywhere since Kira, Jules’s daughter, passed away.
I am adding the long poem at the end of this post.
Fukuroi-juku was often hit by floods, so it was surrounded by earthen ramparts and embankments to protect against floods.
Pine trees used to line the road, and it had an old inn and a row of thatched roof houses all the way to a wooden bridge with a balustrade that crossed the river.
A woodblock painting by Hiroshige of Fukuroi Juku depicts a mother and her son on a pilgrimage, against the backdrop of a low-angle landscape, a specialty of Utagawa Hiroshige.
People later speculated that perhaps they were both spies, but during the journey, the mother had written in ink on her sedge hat, "Two people traveling together" and "Prosperity Village."
The son is wearing a kimono
and a feather, with the inscription "Western Provinces 33 Kannon Pilgrimage (which Jules and I have also walked).
The Tokaido was used by samurai, merchants, government officials, monks, and many pilgrims, including travelers on their way to Ise Shrine.
The tedious journey often made people delirious, as described by one of the woodblock paintings in Fukuroi:
“It was evening time near Fukuroi-shuku on the Tokaido road, when the twilight plays tricks with the mind of tired travelers.
A man threw down his luggage and straw hat and put up his hands together in supplication.
He begged for his life.
Urged by a farmer's voice, he looked closer and saw that the archer he thought was aiming at him, was actually just a scarecrow.”
A row of pine trees stretches out in the background of this humorous scene.
In Fukuroi, we met up with Joseph and Wendy, and continued walking together.
Between Fukuroi Juku and Kakegawa Juku, there used to be a few Chayas (tea houses) to rest, drink tea and eat a snack.
One Chaya was called The Chestnut Flower.
During the Bunsei era, a passage from Jippensha Ikku reads: "Go west from Kakegawa Castle, go to Harakawa Yakushi, pass the street lined with eaves, cross the Segawa River, and you'll see rows of pine trees to the west and arrive at Tachiba-chaya.
Enjoy the sweet sake of the name. This is a stopover on the way to Nuno-juku.
There is also an inn, and many shops selling the famous chestnut flower mats that line the streets. Travelers on their way up and down the mountain buy them as they find them beautiful and rare."
By lunch time, I started looking for options for places to eat.
It was a busy weekend, and most lunch places were full with long waiting lines.
Finally we settled on an Italian chain restaurant that was very busy, but had a table for us.
Later, after I paid the bill for our lunch of a buffalo mozzarella margarita pizza and a focaccia sandwich with mozzarella and mashed peas, I realized why they were so busy.
The restaurant charged us only $7 for this tasty lunch for two people.
Kakegawa-juku had an old inn called the Sawano Honjin.
A Honjin is a type of inn designated as a place of lodging for feudal lords, vassals of the shogunate, government officials, and head priests of the temple since the Edo period.
As a rule, honjins were not permitted to host ordinary people, and therefore could not be considered a type of inn in the commercial sense.
There are theories about the origin of the concept of a honjin dating back to the time of North and South Korea and the Warring States period, but the clearest is that it originated in Japan in 1643, when Shogun Tokugawa traveled to Kyoto and appointed the owners of the residences where he planned to stay as honjinyaku (official honjin position).
Some Honjins along the Tokaido could accommodate overnight stays, while others, as a rule, did not accommodate overnight stays, and were only used for short resting periods.
Even in post towns, Honjins were sometimes not established if the distance between the inns in front and behind was short.
Guests paid a gratuity to the Honjin, but this was merely a gratuity and not a payment or compensation, and it is said that it was not necessary to leave a tip.
Therefore, when a Honjin was designated, its owner was granted privileges not granted to common people, such as the right to use a family name, carry a sword, and to have a gate, entrance, and an upper room.
On the other hand, while there were those who welcomed the opportunity to run a Honjin as an honor, they were not capable of doing that due to the high costs involved.
Some households fell into ruin. Particularly in the latter part of the Edo period, there were cases of bankruptcy that grew due to cuts in stipends and worsening finances.
These financial difficulties were sometimes caused by a slump in the family’s other businesses, (they often owned some kind of commerce, or agriculture, etc.)
The honjin owner was sometimes also a wholesaler or a village headman.
Of course, there were various reasons for the financial ruin of households, and it was not just the burden of the honriku that was the cause.
For this reason, there were many cases in which the designation of honjin was changed depending on the period.
After the Bunkyu Reforms, the
alternate attendance system became increasingly meaningless, and when alternate attendance was abolished with the Meiji Restoration, honjin became nothing more than a name, and in 1870 the Meiji govemment announced the abolition of the name honjin, and honjin as an institution were abolished and soon disappeared.
Kakegawa-juku is a castle town and during the early Edo period, it was made up of 10 towns.
It is said that it was a town with a somewhat "hard" atmosphere, that did not suit many people who travelled along the Tokaido.
By being a more strict town, what they mean is that the town and its inns did not welcome drinking parties, and prostitutes could not be seen.
The Sakura cherry trees started blooming, and many people were out for a stroll in the beautiful gardens of Kakegawa castle.
We walked by the river with the sun warming us up and the blooming cherry trees brightening our walk.
For me, the walk today seemed so easy, even though we were carrying our full backpacks and the terrain was not flat.
I really believe that if you stretch the boundaries of what you believe you can do, inevitably you’ll find yourself breezing through what you once believed was difficult and challenging, and you will arrive at new heights.
Luckily, Jules also believes that stretching our boundaries is very important for our strength and endurance.
I don’t think that Wendy shares my belief.
I think that she is just happy with meeting the challenges of each day and completing it successfully.
By late afternoon, we stopped at an old style cafe run by a son and his mother.
They told us that the cafe has been here for over 60 years, and that three generations of their family run it.
Tasting their pudding and tea, Jules sarcastically said that it is amazing how after sixty years of experience, they still couldn’t make a good pudding and tea!
It was a funny comment but sadly, it was true.
Japanese people love Western food, but not all know how to make it well, and the Spanish Flan dessert that I ordered was one of the worst I had ever tasted.
I couldn’t swallow it, and put it aside.
Our hot springs hotel for the night was located in the countryside among many fields, and we had to cross under the Shinkansen high speed train a few times, to get to the hotel.
In the last stretch we saw a terrace of green tea plants, which the hotel cultivates .
It was a huge hotel, with rooms that spread across different wings. The hot springs baths were located so far from our rooms, that the hotel provided a shuttle bus to get there and back.
The rooms were old and worn, but at least they had a laundry room and dinner was included.
Overall, I didn’t like the hotel at all.
I chose it only because it was strategically located for our walk.
I couldn’t find any buses or convenient trains to get us forwards, and I had no idea that it would be so crowded and worn out.
The onsen was so crowded we didn’t stay long, and the dinner buffet had a huge waiting line that stretched to the top of the stairs.
When I saw the buffet, I realized why the hotel was so popular and crowded with Japanese people.
It had unlimited snow crab and grilled fresh eel, along with mountains of shrimp tempura and sushi choices.
Snow crab and eel are high priced items in restaurants in Japan, and being able to feed the whole family with unlimited expensive food, plus soak in the Onsen, is what Japanese people love.
Unfortunately they also had very hard beds, and for the same amount of money, we could have stayed at a five star hotel elsewhere.
We had the feeling of being in a huge hospital, instead of in a comfortable hot springs hotel between rice fields and a forest.
I will be happy to leave tomorrow morning.
With love,
Tali
Today’s Stats:
Steps - 34,342
km walked - 23 km
Total walked: 346 km
Old Post Towns Visited:
Fukuroi Juku #27
Kakegawa Juku #26
Forgiveness Poetry
The long poem below was probably written in 1300 during the Kamakura period.
The poet is likely to be Takashina Muneshige, who wrote two long poems between 1278-1288.
The poems he wrote include some names of stations along the Tokaido, including Fukuroi-juku (the post town of Fukuroi).
This is important as it is the first time that the name of this city appears in old literature.
The poet wrote about his long walk:
The bag of tears..
Those who remember those days.
The wind is blowing and I'm going to blow away.
Yes, that's right, the top of the mountain opens up.
I continued to read about the many inns and lodges down the road.
I have a rainy throat.
This light is a golden color.
I'm going to start a new life.
A place where you can live comfortably in short sleeves and light clothing.
When I leave the palace, the dawn moonlight remains.
Signs of the passing year are also appearing.
The remains of the palace are endless.
The winds of the mountains blowing through the sea.
The snow has come and gone, the dew has risen deep in the fields, and the autumn has come.
Even the dew is still falling on the mountain.
I wonder if I can find my new home in the shadow of the mountain, or in the old forest.
I am ashamed to grow old like this.
Come on, forgive me, I'll forgive you.
Forgiveness is very gentle and a gentle way to live.
The name of the gentle river is so beautiful.
From the banks of the river, the echoes of the ancient world cry out.
The water from the well, which does not know its origin, still feeds the wild plants.
The blue of the blue sea is painted in a haphazard way.
The way we go through this world is a single path, and it is funny to be lost in a dream.
The stumps of the trees are in the shade, and the gate of the palace is tall.
The palace was filled with people who were in a hurry to get in.
There were many different kinds of people.
People are praying to God's will for release and salvation, then they rush through life.
What kind of top shape is this?
The green hills are verdant.
When I look, l can hear the water flowing through the bridge.
Iris flowers are arranged in rows
I'm so happy.
Come on, look closely, you can see the bridge over the mountain.
Mount Fuji’s head is covered with snow and the leaves are the shape of a flower that is still unknown.
Only the smoke of my irreplaceable thoughts remains.
The pine-rose trees that line the river lead to the bridge.
It stops at the beach.
You, the one who is always thinking of me.
Blow on top of the flower.
The waterfall of the river is loud.
The mist is a sign of the night approaching.
Although it is well known, it is still a place I like.
I long for more, and for the dew on my sleeves again.
Should I squeeze this here?
I'm sleeping.
I'm going to grind it into the sky.
When I was awake in the middle of the night, I was just hanging out.
I'm thinking of going to the hospital again.
If we overlap, the river will flow in the same way.
If you look around, you'll see that
Tsu's mountain is covered in maple trees.
I was in a hurry to get to the beach.
I'm sorry, but if I ever meet someone, l'd like to send them a message.
Now, more than ever, my heart is feeling lonely.
I am sad, but I am still a virgin.
The beach is not visible from here.
I thought about how fast it was, but the waves of the sea were so sleepy.
The traveler who has been stuck in the dark for a long time, has found some comfort by the sea.
I just walked along the plains of Ukishima, and I couldn't even see the clouds.
I never expected to hear anyone on the road.
I wonder if I should feel at ease, but l'm following the path.
Even if the flow of my love is too strong, I will still be hugging my knees.
I was so grateful for the help and for my stubborn legs.
The bamboo is opening too fast.
The path will remain the same.
People will never forget this.
So this is the thickness of crowds.
The swarm of people is spreading
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I feel the awkwardness.
First of all,
When it breaks, it's too late!
I'm lonely.
I preach.
The wisdom of water is ease.
Come on, forgive me, I'll forgive you.
Forgiveness is very gentle and a gentle way to live.
