Okunoin

As soon as I saw pictures of mossy, haunting, otherworldly Okunoin online, I knew we needed to go. I enjoy exploring cemeteries, especially unique ones - in fact, my whole family does, so I knew Monica would be on board. Aside from being incredibly atmospheric, Okunoin is the largest cemetery in Japan. Here are a few quick facts to understand it better.

In 819 CE, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kukai a.k.a. Kobo Daishi, decided to build a monastery in a valley amidst eight mountains. The peaks echoed the shape of a lotus blossom. In old age, he locked himself away in his mausoleum, where according to the monks, he's still meditating. Monks and other adherents of this sect wished to be buried near such a holy figure, and the cemetery grew - now containing more than 200,000 graves.   

I explained a little bit about religion in Japan - Shinto, Buddhism, and their relation to one another - in an earlier post. I didn't really get into the fact that while many Japanese practice both Shinto and Buddhism, Shinto is generally associated with life (births, weddings), while Buddhism is associated with death (91% of funerals are Buddhist). 

  

In Japan, cremation is part of burial. We'd read that people can choose to have their ashes interred in various places, and were curious as to exactly what is interred at Koya-san. The monk explained that it's generally the hyoid bone, a bone in your throat. The hyoid isn't attached to any other bone in the body, allows you to speak, and is vaguely shaped like a butterfly.

 

Walking through Okunoin, one of the most interesting sights are thousands of small statues, dressed in hats and red or white bibs. These statues are meant to represent Jizo, a Buddhist deity who helps children through the underworld by hiding them in his robes. Clothing is added to the statues in an entreaty to help deceased children, or as thanks for protection of a living child. Small piles of stones or pebbles are also supposed to help the children, as a stand-in for good deeds performed, which will earn them a place in the afterlife.

We visited the cemetery twice, once at night and once during the day. I'd highly recommend both. The cemetery is also supposed to be gorgeous (and empty) at sunrise. While both experiences were great, the photos taken in daylight naturally show more detail. Visiting during the day, we blissfully took pictures and explored the mossy tombstones. I wanted to see the lantern hall in the inner sanctum - it was gorgeous, literally hundreds of lanterns in rows. You're not supposed to take pictures in this area of the cemetery, but there are many online anyway.

Along with some interesting war memorials, there's also a stone which you can place your ear on and hear hell. (We tried it; hell was quiet.) I forgot to check the well where you look for your reflection - if it's not there, you're scheduled to die soon - but Monica did and saw herself in the water. Whew.

Without our night time tour, we would have missed out on a lot of explanations and stories; I'd highly recommend going through the cemetery with a tour once and then experiencing it yourself at least one more time.