A gentle sea breeze caresses our skin as we stand on the boat to Miyajima. Momiji Manju and grilled oysters are sold at stands on the street, and deer lazily walk around like they own the place. Miyajima, one of Japan's most famous tourist spots, has been a place of worship since ancient times. The island, its mountains with the main peak of Mt. Misen, and its dark virgin forest giving away the air of spirituality even at the brightest time of the day have gradually become the object of worship by the locals.
We get off the boat and make our way into a shopping area. We're heading into Daishō-in, a Buddhist temple located in the mountains of Itsukushima Island, better known as Miyajima, to get to know more about the history that birthed this nature. Mr. Yoshida, the deputy priest, has shared some of the details with us. Itsukushima Shrine was established approximately 1,400 years ago during the reign of Empress Suiko. The history of nature-worshiping is surely long, but it took its current shape a little later. When Kūkai, a famous Japanese monk, returned from China in 806 CE, the island was converted. Kūkai, who visited Miyajima the same year, is said to have built Daishō-in after his training in Mt. Misen.
The teachings of Esoteric Buddhism that Kūkai brought back from China, as well as Shingon Buddhism that later formed on the basis of those teachings, are deeply embedded in the temple’s history. In the Buddhist teachings before Shingon, a human was supposed to have had numerous reincarnations before he could even get close to Buddha. However, Kūkai preached that one could follow the Three Mysteries of Buddhism, practices that Buddha himself used to reach Nirvana in this lifetime. Even ordinary humans could do them. The practices require a body, a mouth, and a heart. To be specific, you must sit in a zazen meditation pose and clasp your hands together, chanting the sutra with your mouth while having a calm, peaceful heart. When those three parts are all in unison, a human was believed to be able to get closer to Nirvana. If all humans practiced that, the world would become a peaceful place without violence. The teachings of the Three Mysteries included such hopes for peace. Inside Daishō-in, there are various places where one can practice them.
No wonder Mt. Misen became a popular training place for mountain priests and practitioners to learn to use the body to calm their hearts.
No matter how many things changed in 1,200 years, the beliefs of Itsukushima Island have been protected by the parties in power from era to era. Itsukushima Shrine, the Buddhist Daishō-in, and the island all survived the anti-Buddhism movement that took place in the Meiji era when the Edo Shogunate ordered the destruction of all of the Buddhist temples and statues to lay the ground for Shinto. The people of Itsukushima never destroyed anything that belonged to Daishō-in, claiming that "what goes beyond humanity's understanding shall not be touched by humans."
Some religious events of Itsukushima Shrine even took place at the Buddhist Daishō-in. The bond between them was built over 1,200 years ago thanks to Daishō-in serving as an annex temple. What Kūkai left behind wasn't only Daishō-in. The Kiezu no Hi, or the Eternal Fire, still burns to this day as a thank you for Kūkai’s final training. If you go to the peak of Mt. Misen, you can see the fire is always burning, just like the faith that has been protected over the centuries.
