Lorayne and Jake are the two people from
the right. Here we were playing a
Japanese game at the festival that night!
I won.. ahem... :D
Besides Una, Tehilah and I staying at the monastery, we also met a really nice girl from Singapore named Lorayne and a really kind yet introverted guy named Jake from California. Each of them had been traveling with others but came to Koyasan on their own. Jake was trying to enjoy his last week in Japan because he was to start Medical School soon. I think this was mostly occupying his mind then. Other than us, we were staying at the monastery with a group of old ladies that danced with folding fans. They were going to perform the next day so they were practicing that evening. One lady in particular, though she did not speak one bit of English, became my friend! Haha. When I was peaking through the sliding doors to catch a glimpse at the rehearsal, she was very insisting that I come inside and sit down to get a better look. =) We even exchanged numbers and email and I told her (through Google Translate) that I would email her as soon as I learned Japanese. =)
My new Japanese friend was this old and incredibly nice lady!
Here some videos of the ladies practicing their fan dance at the monastery:
Now for the Kanji!
扇 Kunyomi:おうぎ - "ōgi" Onyomi:セン - "sen" Meaning: fan, folding fan Jōyō Kanji taught in junior high JLPT level N1 1805 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
Koya-san was like a dream. It was as if we walked right into a movie set because it was so picturesque. It seemed practically untouched from the outside, modern world. The best part of this experience was having the opportunity to stay a night at a Buddhist monastery.
When we had originally planned this trip, staying the night was not part of our itinerary. We had only planned to make this a day trip since Sunday was our only day off from class. When we arrived and saw that we just so happened to be in Koya-san for Kobo Daishi's birthday celebration, my Chinese friend Una, whom is Buddhist herself, was the first to tell me "Kami... I am not leaving here today. Screw class. This is bigger." I took a leap of faith and followed her plan. I will never regret this decision for as long as I live.
"Kami... I am not leaving here today. Screw class. This is bigger." - Una Wang
We found ourselves finding one of the last few vacancies in one of the more secluded monasteries of the town. Koya-san was completely full of devout Japanese buddhists who had traveled there for the festivities. We were so excited that we went into the first tiny store we could find and purchased ourselves traditional Japanese yukatas (casual/everyday kimonos). The monks we were staying with were very friendly and some could speak English and a few others could speak Mandarin with my friend Una. When entering the temple/monastery you had to take off your shoes and put on the sandals they provided.
Our room while staying at the monastery!
Then we were led to our room which was behind some sliding door screens and was completely covered in tatami mat (traditional Japanese straw mat). There was one short table in the center and to one side there was a small shrine and a statue of the Buddha. Our beds were futon mats that we rolled out on the floor. It was so cool!!! And surprisingly comfortable.
While at the monastery, there was a scheduled time for everything. This entailed meals (which we would share with the monks and other guests in a big room), time for bath (which was communal and divided by gender), and group meditations. The first meditation session everyone did together in the meditation room was around the time the sun was setting and was to last for one hour. Everyone walked in and took a pillow if they desired and sat down. Every five minutes or so a monk would ring a bell that would hold a vibration/sound for a long time. I remember at first feeling a great discomfort in my knees which quickly spread to my entire body. I was really having a hard time concentrating and trying to reach a meditative state. That was until... it started to rain. I could hear the light padding from the rain that fell on the wooden building we were in as well as on the sand and plants in the rock garden outside and surrounding gardens. It was incredibly relaxing. All of a sudden and without even realizing it I fell into a deep meditative state. I completely lost track of time and space. The pain in my body vanished, or I did not notice it anymore. It was the deepest I have ever meditated in my life. The remaining time flew by so fast and when one of the monks rang the gong signaling meditation time was over, I felt like a new person. Its funny how something so simple as rain can have such a powerful effect under these circumstances.
Pensive Kamilah overlooking the rock garden in the Buddhist monastery - so grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime
experience I had in Koyasan!
Now for the Kanji!
雨 Kunyomi:あめ - "ame" Onyomi:ウ - "u" Meaning: rain Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 950 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
Some common compounds in Japanese using the ame character (following the hiragana spelling, the romanji spelling and then the English meaning): Common Kun Compound(s): 大雨 - おおあめ - "ōame" - heavy rain
小雨 -こさめ - "kosame" - light rain, drizzle
Common On Compound(s): 雨天- ウテン - "uten" - rainy weather 雨期- ウキ - "uki" - rainy season Where:
大 Kunyomi:おお - "ō-", おお.きい - "ōkii" [大きい] Onyomi:ダイ - "dai", タイ - "tai" Meaning: large, big Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 7 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
小 Kunyomi:ちい.さい - "chiisai" [小さい] こ - "ko-" Onyomi:シヨウ - "shiyō" Meaning: little, small Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 114 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
天 Kunyomi:あまつ - "amatsu" あめ - "ame" あま - "ama-" Onyomi:テン - "ten" Meaning: heavens, sky, imperial Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 512 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
期 Kunyomi:-- Onyomi:キ - "ki" ゴ - "go" Meaning: period, time, date, term Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 3 117 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
What is this symbol and why do I keep running into it everywhere? This is what I would commonly ask myself while in Japan and China. When I finally learned what it meant, I was like.. "oh... DUH." Hito is the symbol for "people". It can also mean human being, person, man or personality. It kind of looks like a person with two legs doesn't it?
The first thing that was hit me while I was walking through the streets of Shanghai in my first night in China was "WOW CHINA HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE.." Never had I seen such crowded streets, not even around Times Square in New York City.
My first night EVER in Asia - letting the crowd take me
through Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China
It was almost impossible not to hit someone, and out of custom I would always utter "excuse me", or "I'm sorry". The Chinese people that felt the mild blows of my body hitting them payed no mind, this was completely normal for them. Also, if someone was in a hurry, they did not care who was walking in front of them. They would not be reluctant to hit past you or shove you to the side. It never bothered me, though. I think if I were raised in a city with these kind of street conditions I would have to do the same thing to get to where I need to. There were times that I felt as though the sea of people was literally taking me away and guiding me through the city. Maybe I was also on automatic partly from the exhaustion of the 12-hour flight. Eventually I found myself stunned as I reached the end of what I realized was the pedestrian Nanjing Road, all the way to the Huangpu River. The site was breathtaking!
Shanghai Skyline from across the Huangpu River
Now for the Kanji!
人 Kunyomi:ひと - "hito" Onyomi:ジン - "jin", ニン - "nin" Meaning: people Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 JLPT level N5 5 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
Some common compounds in Japanese using the hito character (followed by the hiragana spelling, the romanji spelling and then English meaning): 個人 - こじん - "kojin" - individual 人生 - じんせぃ - "jinsei" - life 日本人 - にほんじん - "nihonjin" - Japanese people 人柄 - ひとがら - "hitogara" - personality Previous KanjiNext Kanji
Join me on my journey as I try to learn one Japanese kanji character at a time! Each post dedicates itself to a new character which is then connected to a personal anecdote of my life and travels!
