The Sunday Gleaner

Arts&Educationwww.jamaica-gleaner.com

NOVEMBER 6, 2016

SECTION E

P OSTCA R D F R O M J A PAN

Today, we present
a selection fromPoet Laureate
Professor
Mervyn Morris.

Spared by the Divine
Amitabh
SharmaCONTRIBUTOR

MATSUSHIMA, Japan:
HERE IS something
about Zuigan-ji temple
that touches the soul.
Serenity permeates in thetemple compound – the cedartree-lined dirt path, rows ofcaves carved on the rocky cliff
with some moss-covered
memorials for the departedTsouls – cool October breeze andblooming hydrangeas – bliss.
One of the holiest and reveredsites in Japan, Zuigan-ji, a Zen
Buddhist temple that opened its
doors to the world in 828 AD,
attracts visitors from across theworld.
Zuigan-ji is Matsushima
town’s hub of activities –
visitors, believers, some in awe,others in peace, yet others
putting their best pose forward
to take selfies – this pious spot
sees them all.
Located at Matsushimakaigan, a sea-face town that isrevered as one of the scenic

spots in Japan, Zuigan-ji wasmade the site for burial by theruling Date (pronounced Dahtay) family. They used thetemple for holding memorialservices for the departed souls.
Rain, sunshine, storms –Zuigan-ji has seen them all, andMarch 11, 2011is etched in themortal souls who lived to tell
the story.
The tsunami surged into thetown, as the world watched inhorror, wiping anything thatcame its way, wall of saline
water uprooting buildings, cars,boats, and rushing into thetemple compound ... but thedeadly waves stopped justoutside the gate of Zuigan-ji.
“It was the blessings of Date
Masamune (samurai warrior andruler of Matsushima) that wewere able to avert a majordisaster,” Sensei (teacher ormaster) Yoichi Chiba, monk atZuigan-ji, said.
Chiba, attired in a black robe,with a calm composure, was oneof the first responders.
“We had people coming into
the temple, locals and tourists,
and we immediately moved

PLEASE SEE DIVINE, E3

THE SUNDAY GLEANER, NOVEMBER 6, 2016 | ARTS & EDUCATION

E3

PHOTOS BY AMITABH SHARMA

Statues and caves, which are memorials to the departed souls, line the path at Zuigan-ji.

Statues and caves, which are memorials to the departed souls, line the path at Zuigan-ji.

Wooden marker at Zuigan-ji, the destructive Tsunami waves of March 3, 2011 stopped
right there.

is steadfast as the rocky edificeof the complex itself.
The temple has gone through
CONTINUED FROM E1
its metamorphosis. The presentday building was completed inthem to the hills behind the temple,”
1609 by Date Masamune.
Chiba, general affairs director at
The structure is in the ornateZuigan-ji informed. “It was very cold
Momoyama style, used byand also started to snow and theToyotomi Hideyoshi, supreme
conditions were not good, so we
warlord of Japan in the latter
moved the people to the temple after
half of the 16th century.
the tsunami had passed.”
Inside the main building are
Chiba was in constant touch with therich and ornately decorated
authorities and was getting updates fromrooms. The Peacock Room in
the radio broadcasts. After the waters had
the main hall is the focal point
subsided, he went to the local
where the royalty presided, richgovernment offices and arranged
and bright colours, ornate walls
for a bus to evacuate the tourists. and high ceilings, personified as
Call it divine
the sanctum sanctorum.
intervention,“There were no peacocks here
mystery ofwhen the first panel was
the unknown –painted,” Chiba said, pointing topeople’s faith
the artist’s rendition of this royalin Zuigan-ji
bird. “Subsequently,” he added,“more paintings were added,
which were more realisticrepresentations.”
The main building reopened
to the public after restorationin April 2016.
Zuigan-ji encapsulates theessence of the Momoyamaera – the carvings andpaintings representing theconfluence of nature withman’s creations.
A wooden marker
outside the gates ofZuigan-ji shows where
the waters of tsunami
stopped – a testamentthat there are nuancesthat are beyond realmof moral souls,
Matsushima and its
people have lived that
fateful day. “Everymorning, we are bornPHOTO BY FLOYD Kagain,” once said Gautam
TAKEUCHI/ WAKA PHOTOS
Buddha, founder of
Zuigan-ji priest Yoichi
Buddhism.
“What we doChiba.
today is what matters most.”

DIVINEThe main temple building of Zuigan-ji.

The visit to Japan is part of‘Pacific Islands and Caribbean
Journalists’ Programme’organised by the Tokyo based
Association for Promotion ofInternational Co-operation(APIC) with support from
Foreign Press Centre, Japan.
amitabh.sharma@hotmail.com