Chapter 6 Pilgrimage Day 7

Diary of the White Bush Clover

Day 7 (12 October) Ōkagi to Ichinomiya

At 5 o’clock in the morning I went back to the temple for a one-hour prayer session with the priest. Then I began walking once again. I had to cross bridges over three big rivers, Ibi-gawa, Nagara-gawa and Kiso-gawa. After walking nineteen kilometers I took a break. A bullet train passed right beside me, startling me. I wanted to compare my pace with the shinkansen and I calculated that one day of my walking was equivalent to ten minutes on the train. It might be the same distance but the meaning was completely different. I was very happy to be walking and praying.

When I reached Nagara-gawa I saw that there was a special pedestrian path along the side of the bridge. Usually I had to hurry across a bridge because it was only for cars. I stopped in the middle of this bridge and looked at the river. The water was very low and I realized it was because there was a dam upstream.

Nagara-gawa is famous for ukai, fishing with trained cormorants, big water birds that catch fish by scooping them up in their large beaks. The fishermen capture the birds and put them on a tether with a band around their neck so that they cannot swallow the fish they catch. I looked at the river and wondered whether right now someone was making the birds catch fish and then stealing the fish to eat for themselves. I stood there reflecting on that as I looked down at the water.

After crossing the river I arrived at Ichinomiya. I was hungry so I went to a crowded soba shop. I had not spoken to anybody the whole day. When I went into the noodle shop I felt as if I was stepping into a completely different world because it was so noisy and crowded.

Ichinomiya is famous for textiles and I could hear the sound of the looms as I walked through the streets. At last I arrived at the temple. The priest there had the same family name as myself, Goto. When I first saw his face he appeared a bit scary but after talking to him he appeared to be very interesting and kind.

As soon as I arrived at the temple the priest asked me if I would like to go to a temple in Gifu with him, which was about ten kilometers away. He asked in this way, “I am going to Gifu, what do you want to do?” I thought he was testing me. I could have said I was tired and taken a rest but if I did not go I might lose the opportunity to visit another temple. The priest walked without considering how tired I was and that I had been walking all day. From the temple we walked to the station. The steps were steep and I was so tired I felt like crying. I was also really hungry and felt freezing cold in the wind. Also my hair was all a mess. I believed all this was a trial for me. When I arrived at the temple in Gifu I was revived by a big bowl full of white rice and felt a bit livelier after eating. We got back to Ichinomiya around 10 o’clock. I was so tired I just fell into bed.