Kyoto

Tessa Calvin and Marin Lee

On May 13th, we found ourselves waking up in Tokyo to see that the typhoon had passed and we were in for a beautiful day. We boarded the Shinkansen, bound for Kyoto, a place that many of us were looking forward to because of the traditional crafts and numerous shrines. 

    Once in Kyoto, we split in to smaller groups for a few hours to see the sights, shop and sample the regional cuisine, which included all flavors of mochi imaginable and matcha in every form possible. Our meeting place was a shrine that housed a Buddha statue built by students from the Super Art School in Kyoto. What was special about this Buddha was that it was made from pine tree from Rikuzentakata that were uprooted by the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami. That fact made the statue particularly meaningful for the carvers, the residents of Rikuzentakata as well as the group of us from UAA.

    After meeting at this designated shrine, we braved the couwded walk up the hill to the Kiyomizu Temple. We escaped the sun and heat and entered a cool room in the basement where we listened to a talk about the process of carving the Buddha. The artists were present, as well as the mayor of Kyoto, the head of the Super Art School, and the Buddhist monk from the temple. We watched a Japanese news broadcast about the making of this special Buddha statue as it travelled to Rikuzentakata so survivors could have a chance to help carve away the wood. The preist explained to us the significance of this opportunity for affected people - each strike of the chisel is a prayer for loved ones lost.

    Towards the end of the presentation we were all given credit card sized pouches couvered with intricate, silk cloth. What was inside, took us by surprise. It was a piece of the pine that had been carved away to create the Buddha. The students painstakingly saved each scrap which was lovingly placed in the silk pouches and, ultimately, given to us. We were speechless at this incredible generosity and honor.

    At the conclusion of this presentation, we walked backed down to the shrine where we were lucky to participate in a Buddhist prayer that the monk led, dedicated to Monty Dickson and all the other victims of the 3.11 disaster. He chanted calmly, yet intently and carried a metal chime that he struck several times. In this prayer, he told us he was honoring those that had passed and reminded us that those people are not really gone, because we carry them in our heads and our hearts. Indeed, because we think of and honor Monty through his Kakehashi between Japan and Alaska, he is in a sense still here as an important figure in the UAA community four years later.

     When this beautiful ceremony was completed we travelled back to the bus station to head to Osaka, where we would sleep the next two nights. Once there, we dropped our bags and ventured out to find some savory, authentic Japanese ramen and prepare for our final day.

A link about the Monty's memorial and our visit to Kiyomizu posted by the Super Art School is below (article is in Japanese):

http://www.task.ac.jp/news/detail.html?id=2962&PHPSESSID=m0f1n4oqf68fqk7faa1l1evi50

Monty's special memorial ceremony at KIYOMIZU temple in Kyoto, Japan. On May 13th, UAA students visited Kiyomizu temple where a Buddha statue (Dainichi nyorai) which was made from pine trees that were washed away by the 2011 tsunami is placed. It was a beautiful and solemn ceremony. My deep thanks to Kiyomizu Temple Senior Monk, Eigen Onishi, Chancellor, President, Vice President, Staff members of TASK and the professor and former/current students who made the Buddha Statue. 深く感謝いたします。