Return from the Land of Samurai

After three weeks in Japan--my first week spent on a tourist vacation doing tourist things--I returned home with new perspectives and more ideas for my writing. I also returned to a home of sadness--more on that later.

My first couple of days traveling went as is typical for me. I often tell folks "Don't travel with me unless you are prepared for a lot of challenges when things go wrong." And it's true with this trip. I was supposed to fly out from Charlottesville on April 12, and when I arrived at the airport to check in, I was told I'd arrived too late to get on the flight. Mind you, Charlottesville Airport is a very small airport (5 gates total), and that day there were only three people in line after me (passengers) who were also denied getting on the flight. There was no one else in line and I had TSA precheck.

Suffice to say, once I did get out of C'ville later (paying an extra $600 for another ticket) I'd missed all of my other flights traveling to Japan. Delta rebooked me, but I lost an entire day of travel and time in Japan, so I had to cancel two events I'd signed up for in Osaka. Ah well. Delta apologized for the issue and refunded my $600.

My first place in Japan was Haneda airport in Tokyo where I went through customs. Here I was introduced to the norm for a Japanese public bathroom. There are heated toilet seats everywhere, bidet functions and even music to cover the sounds one makes while on the toilet.

After leaving on April 12th, I finally made it to Osaka, Japan on April 14th.

View from my hotel room in Osaka.

After checking into the hotel, I went out to explore the city before attempting to sleep.

The next day, I relaxed in the morning and then set off for a very touristy "Samurai" experience where the staff introduced me to shodo (Japanese calligraphy), sado (tea ceremony), tameshigiri (sword cut testing) and did a photo session with me in Samurai armor.

For my shodo exercise, I practiced writing "dragon" in kanji on small paper and ink and then used a giant calligraphy brush and wrote it on large paper standing over the area. I dipped my brush in a bucket--all very challenging but fun!

My sado (tea ceremony) instructor first demonstrated all of the elements of the tea ceremony, and then guided me as I learned various aspects of how to pour the water, mix the matcha (green tea powder) and prepare the tea to drink.

From sado, we went to train with the sword. I was first guided through various sword cuts and practiced side by side with the instructor until I performed the cuts correctly, then shown how to cut the rolled tatami mat. There were 3 rolls of mat for me to practice on and I obtained 2 cuts out of two mats and three on the third. I was pleased to have been successful in cutting all the way through without much difficulty.

The last fun thing for the afternoon was putting on Samurai armor to experience the weight of it and have some photo-op time. I think wearing this armor for long periods of time, hiking in it or riding a horse would most definitely take a lot of practice and stamina!

The next day, I hoped on the bullet train (Shinkansen) and headed for the small city of Kumamoto! After checking into my hotel, I once again took to the streets and tracked down a few shrines. They were closed (usually only open during holidays) but it was a lovely day to be out walking.

My next day was filled with a "Samurai" focused tour where I visited Reigando Cave and Unganzenji Temple where Miyamoto Musashi wrote The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin no Sho). Here, I was overwhelmed by the energy in this place. So many people who admire and respect Musashi, his history, written works and art--they travel here to see where this great man spent the last years of his life. In the sunset years of his life, Musashi retired from battling with the sword and became an accomplished painter and calligrapher in addition to his writing and teaching. When one examines the life of this amazing man, it is easy to understand why his story is so compelling and why he continues to inspire others in the martial way.

Our small tour group ate a lovely lunch at a small cafe just outside of the park, and then we traveled to the home of the katana craftsman (swordmaker) Matsunaga Genrokuro Sensei. There, we were able to see the place where he crafts his swords, and experience how he heats the tamahagane steel. A couple of the youths were allowed to practice shaping a point on a piece of glowing heated steel--banging it into shape with a hammer. I was also amazed to discover that tamahagane steel (the particular metal for these swords) is not "mined" but pulled from volcanic sands. Matsunaga Sensei collects his own with a long magnet rod. The steel comes up in small pieces that are collected to gradually form enough steel to heat and craft.

(Above is a bucket of small, thin pieces of tamahagane steel on a pole magnet which is stuck into the sand to bring up the pieces.)

Afterward, we attended a demonstration of tameshigiri by a group of sword masters and then a few of us were allowed to practice our hands at test cutting there as well. These masters took time to make sure we used the blade properly and guided myself and the two women next to me toward successful cuts!

Our small tour group with Matsunaga Sensei and other sword masters.

At the end of our visit, Matsunaga Sensei brought us into his home where we viewed his family Samurai armor and many special artifacts of Bushido significance. We received a very warm farewell from Matsunaga Sensei and his wife, and the overall experience was absolutely amazing. I'd wanted, so much, this first week in Japan--to learn more about Japanese Samurai swords, to understand their birth and their history--and by the end of this day I felt an overall sense of awe at the beauty that surrounds the legends and practices of this steel art.

The first part of my last day in Kumamoto included more of a guided tour experience as I first visited Suizenji Garden and then was ushered through parts of Kumamoto castle. These visits were not on my desired "Samurai" experience list, but the tour company I booked with felt they would be interesting. All of the other items I discovered and booked on my own. Later--after visiting the garden and the castle, I asked if we had time to visit the Shimada Museum--a museum dedicated to the historical figure of Miyamoto Musashi. This event I truly enjoyed and was very grateful that we had the time to go. Interestingly, there is a sword reproduction in the museum which was crafted by Matsunaga Sensei--and it is beautiful.

In the afternoon, I braved a train ride and then a cab trip (where the poor taxi driver got lost) to the martial arts resort of Meihodo. I was a little worried as I tried to text my contact at Meihodo because the cab driver couldn't find it. He finally dropped me off at the local train station which made me raise an eyebrow because it was just slightly bigger than a telephone booth. I really hoped that the Meihodo driver would find me . . .

I was found, however, and my entire afternoon/evening after that was extremely special. Apparently I was the only person to have booked for experiences that day, and so I had the entire resort (or so it felt) to myself! First, I signed a waiver, then changed into a hakama and additional martial arts clothing. From the changing room, I entered a lovely dojo where I was treated to a private self defense lesson and after about 45 minutes, we went outside to practice sword test cutting. This would be my third time during the week to have this opportunity, and each time I had to "empty my cup" and listen to how each particular instructor guided me. The differences were interesting, but all were effective.

After the tamashigiri experience, we retired to a small room after watching the sun descend to the treeline, where Daishi Sensei performed the tea ceremony for me. He was extremely graceful in each movement--and watching him was pure poetry.

The conclusion of my visit included a short lesson in kyudo, or Japanese archery with the long bow. First, I witnessed the full ceremony of traditional Kyudo from Daishi Sensei and Tanaka Sensei, and each motion was clear, orchestrated with focus and meditation. I enjoyed watching them execute very much, and then--after they were finished, I was extremely concerned because I was sure it would take me a week just to learn how to prepare to shoot properly--much less even get to launching an arrow. They made me smile, however, because afterward, they moved a very big target right up close to a "you can't miss this" distance, and I shot a few arrows into the target without complication. I felt very happy--until--they removed the big close target and told me to give it a go at the far targets 28 meters away. Despite my valiant attempts I managed to hit the awning that hangs over the targets (I don't believe points are awarded for that in the sport)--but the instructors made me feel good by saying that I'd done well for my first time. They were very kind.

At the very end, we visited the giant taiko drum. This magnificent drum overwhelmed my senses with it's deep earthly tone as it's vibrations penetrated my body.

The rest of my trip in Japan (almost two weeks) was with my martial arts group as we met together with our Sensei, and trained and prepared for ceremonies at the famous Butokuden in Kyoto. Those events we don't post photos (indeed we hardly even have time to take them)--and our bodies are sore and tired at the end (and beginning) of each day as we train, learn and work. It's a different joy/pleasure that is beyond a vacation, and more of a life practice and mission. At one point during these weeks, my cell phone went missing, and I lived for five days without my cellphone. This wasn't such an issue since I had my laptop, but when I was navigating home to the U.S. and trying to look up plane locations and times--it was certainly inconvenient.

My last day I was able to Skype with my daughter who let me know that my poor, dear dog Trapper had passed away while I was gone. He was close to 18 years old, and his death was not a huge surprise, but I hated that he left this world before I got home to say goodbye. Still, my daughter was able to be with him at the end--and that made my return home bittersweet. I'd had a wonderful time in Japan but it was really hard to come home and not have Trapper greet me at the door with the signature "stuffed Lambchop toy" in his mouth to show me how happy he was that I was home.

Below are the last photos of my little guy before he left this world.

"Wagging tail of love,

Tappy-tap dance of sheer joy,

His heart sparkled bright."

He collar said: "Trapper: Number 1 Guard Dog in the World."