Haley Alt shares her experiences as participant of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, which is administered through the collaboration of Japan's local and national government authorities and promotes grass-roots internationalisation at the local level.
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I first arrived in Tateyama, Toyama Prefecture, on the JET Program in 2013. In my six-year stay in the small, unassuming town, I would discover a treasure trove of cultural and spiritual significance: an ancient mountain religion, 1,300 years of pilgrimage history, and a ceremony dedicated to saving the souls of women.
As one of the few native English speakers to intensely study this enchanting mountain town's history, culture, and religion. One of Japan's three holy mountains, Mt. Tateyama was said to be a physical manifestation of heaven and hell on earth, where both gods and demons resided. For centuries, thousands traveled across the country to climb Mt. Tateyama on a consecrated pilgrimage, granting them salvation and eternal afterlife in Paradise.
However, women were prohibited from climbing the mountain until 1869, making them unable to repent for their sins. It was during the Edo period (1603-1867) that the Nunobashi Kanjoe Purification Ceremony was created in an effort to save women from spiritual doom.
The ceremony takes place in the Ashikuraji temple area in Tateyama, where a crimson bridge is believed to connect the physical world of the living and the supernatural realm of the dead. Blindfolded women in funereal white kimono are guided across the bridge by traditional Japanese court music and the chanting of Buddhist monks. As they leave the material world and pass into the realm of the gods, the women meet their symbolic deaths.
Later, away from spectators in a pitch-black room, the women kneel in prayer. Gagaku imperial court music plays softly at first, then eventually builds to a cacophonous roar as the women recite Buddhist chants for spiritual awakening. When I was lucky enough to watch this hidden scene, tears poured down my face. The prayer is one of hope that moved me with an unseen force, penetrating my very core.
The deafening chanting and music comes to an abrupt halt, and shutters rise to reveal the awe-inspiring view of Mt. Tateyama and its radiant Pure Land. Removing their blindfolds, the participants reach the symbolic end of their spiritual pilgrimage. They have achieved a transcendent rebirth, cleansed of past regret and hardships.
Listed on the "Heritage for the Future" list by UNESCO Japan, the present-day Nunobashi Kanjoe is an opportunity for the emotional healing of women. The next ceremony will take place Autumn 2021. Women of all nationalities, religions, and backgrounds are welcome to apply, and everyone else is welcome to witness their incredible spiritual journey.
-- Haley Alt was an ALT on the JET Programme from July 2013 to July 2016 in Tateyama, Toyama Prefecture. Originally from Menomonee Falls, Wis., she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in Japanese and East Asian Studies. She is a novelist and freelance copywriter.
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