The iEXPerience Program is a series of events designed especially for iCLA’s international exchange students to provide cultural learning beyond the classroom and enrich their experience studying abroad in Yamanashi, Japan.
On July 9, 2022, iCLA held its second event in the iEXPerience Program. The first event was held at Erinji Temple in May.
The iEXPerience Program is a series of events designed especially for iCLA’s international exchange students to provide cultural learning beyond the classroom and enrich their experience studying abroad in Yamanashi, Japan. Through fieldwork and workshops, exchange students explore the local Yamanashi area and its unique art, culture, and history. Organized closely with iCLA’s faculty members, the iEXPerience program events are designed to offer an interdisciplinary learning experience and provide a comprehensive program of discovery, study, and enjoyment.
In this event, iCLA exchange students visited the Lake Kawaguchi area with a focus on practicing Shugendo, which is a unique religion in Japan that dates back to the Heian Period and has foundations in Shintoism and Buddhism. Practitioners of Shugendo became popularly known as Yamabushi. Training takes place mainly in the mountains, and involves walking, running, and meditating in the mountains and training under a waterfall to develop concentration and spiritual strength.
iCLA offers a Shugendo workshop course every Spring Semester taught by Satoshi Hasegawa-sensei. In the Shugendo workshop course, students learn mental and physical training techniques to deepen their understanding of the connection between mind and body, and the human connection to nature. Training in the class is done in the iCLA dojo and in nature close to Mount Fuji. The culmination of the course is in the field training, where students practice walking and running on mountain paths, meditating in the mountains, and engaging in waterfall training. Under the waterfall training, also known as Takigyo, students learn to look deeply within themselves, recognize their personal issues, and find solutions to their problems.
The first stop in the iEXPerience Program was Kawaguchi Asama Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the worship of Mt. Fuji and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site with over 1500 years of history. Here, students began their taste of Shugendo training. The mountain which Kawaguchi Asama Shrine is situated upon is a famous Shugendo training spot, with many practitioners visiting Kawaguchi Asama Shrine’s Haha no Shirataki (“Mother of the White Waterfall”) to undergo waterfall training. It is said that since the Heian Era, those who climbed Mt Fuji would purify their bodies under Haha no Shirataki and pray for a safe climb. The Kawaguchiko Asama Shrine itself was built in 865, the year after Mt Fuji had a major eruption, and was dedicated to placating the spirit of Mt Fuji.
With a resounding trumpet call from the Horagai (conch shell) to signify the start of the journey, students were led through the mountain path by Satoshi Hasegawa-sensei, iCLA Japan Studies Professor William Reed, and the students of Hasegawa. The conch shell is a common ritual article used in Shugendo. Along the way, students chanted “Zange zange rokkon shojo”, meaning, “confess, confess, purify your six senses”, a prayer used by Shugendo practitioners when walking a mountain path. During the walk to the waterfall, students thought about the theme in their lives which they wished to gain clarity on.
On the waterfall experience, iCLA exchange student from Mexico, Jimena says:
“I thought about the life that I want to have and the things that are keeping me from getting to it […] and I’ve been thinking about how I can solve those things that are keeping me from reaching my goals. I feel heavy because I think that I am thinking about everything that makes me go backwards in my journey. But I hope that after the waterfall experience and the purification ceremony I can feel lighter and ready to reach more of my goals.”
– Jimena, iCLA Exchange Student
After arriving at the Haha no Shirataki Waterfall, students changed into the special Takigyo garment to prepare for going under the waterfall. Two by two, students entered the cold waters of the waterfall and contemplated about their dreams and the things that disturb the realization of those dreams.
“At the beginning, I thought that the water was very, very cold. But then I tried to focus on the things that are getting me attached to the bad things that I have […] and maybe hoping for an answer. Standing there, I could feel the cold water, but still I was very concentrated. When I got out, [I talked] to the priest, he told me that I should be very focused on what is keeping me behind and that I should be very concentrated. Now I feel relieved, I feel fresh, and I feel that maybe I’m ready to go and follow what I want to achieve.”
– Jimena, iCLA Exchange Student
After completing the waterfall training, students changed out of the Takigyo garments and returned back to the main area of Kawaguchi Asama Shrine. At Kawaguchi Asama Shrine, the Head Priest performed a special purification ceremony for the students inside the shrine.
To round off the Shugendo experience, lunch was a Shojin Ryori bento. Shojin Ryori is a special type of vegetarian cuisine which is served to monks. Students enjoyed a modern adaptation of Shojin Ryori prepared fresh by a local business.
Students were able to experience a truly unique and traditional Shugendo experience to connect deeply with their mind, body, and nature.
In the second half of the event, students enjoyed visiting two must-see museums in the local area: the Kawaguchi Music Forest Museum and the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum.
The Kawaguchi Music Forest Museum is dedicated to music boxes and automatic musical instruments from European countries. The European design of the theme park makes for a popular photography spot. Elegant princess-style dresses are also available for rental.
The Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, which opened in 1994, celebrates the works and life of the famous dyeing artisan, Itchiku Kubota, who resurrected the Tsujiganahana style of intricate textiles that was popular in the 15th and 16th centuries of Japan. The Gaudi-inspired museum architecture houses numerous Itchiku Kubota’s kimonos dyed in the Tsujigahana method. Students could appreciate Kubota’s artistic process, the items and foreign culture that inspired him, and the works that he had completed throughout his career.
Through this specially designed iEXPerience Program, iCLA’s international exchange students were able to deepen their understanding of Japanese religion, and experience first-hand its ancient practices that have been carried on and continue to be relevant in modern Japan.
It was also a valuable opportunity to experience the tourism culture of the local area and enjoy the attractions around Lake Kawaguchi and Mt Fuji.
More photos from the event:
Links:
iCLA Study Abroad Program
Yamanashi Tourism Bureau: Kawaguchi Asama Shrine
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum