IKI ("KI")

If you want to read the full story, start here: Koyasan story - Part 1

The day after a night's rest in the Buddhist monastery was Kobo Daishi's birthday which this year coincided with the 1,200th anniversary where he introduced esoteric buddhism to Japan.  There were festivities and cultural demonstrations on every corner and at every temple.  

At the monastery where we stayed one of the monks told us that we should head to the main temple around noon because that was where the Kobo Daishi birthday celebration/ceremony was to take place.

When we got there we saw a lot of monks dressed in really nice robes heading to the temple and within we could hear chanting.  It was loud chanting.  I was imagining the whole hall to be very full of monks in prayer.  I was sort of tip-toeing, trying to get a better look from afar because I felt there was no way we would be allowed inside.  This was when Chase, a 25-year-old guy from California who was traveling alone, noticed me and introduced himself.  He said he ran into a Japanese lady who was giving tours for free today because of the special occasion and asked if my friends and I would be interested.  

SHE. WAS. AWESOME.  She was incredibly engaging and knowledgable about everything.  I think she was excited to show foreigners around since they do not get too many tourists in Koya-san.  But most importantly, she got us into the birthday celebration in the main temple. =)

I don't know how to even describe it.  There must have been about 200 monks all sitting together towards the middle.  There was one monk seated towards the end that was leading the prayer and here and there the whole hall would join in when it was their turn.  The further away you got from the center, there would be young kids not older than us that looked like they were in the process of becoming monks, and then travel groups of Japanese people from all over Japan, and then us.  Chase, Una, Tehilah and I were the only non-Japanese people there.

I was able to sneak a video of the experience:

Now for the Kanji!

気
Kunyomi:  いき - "iki"
Onyomi: キ - "ki", ケ - "ke"
Meaning: spirit, mind, air, atmosphere, mood

Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1
JLPT level N5
113 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.

Previous Kanji

KAMI

Happy middle of summer everyone.  I am digging up this blog from the grave and turning it into my next project: each new post from now on will be somewhat related to a new Kanji character that I will write about and meanwhile try to learn.  I thought this could be a creative way to learn Japanese Kanji for myself and perhaps other people out there as well that stumble upon this blog some day.

My first name is Kamilah but most people call me "Kami" for short.  Earlier this summer I set out on one of the most amazing adventures of my life: I travelled to Japan.  When I was asked for my name over there, I would simply reply "Kami" thinking "Kamilah" was too long and complicated a name.  The reactions of the Japanese people were mostly either surprised, impressed, or they would laugh.  During my first week, I picked up this book called "Shinto: The Kami Way" by Sokyo Ono that I found in a bookstore outside the Kyoto National Museum.

Book I picked up in the Kyoto National
Museum bookstore

I then realized my name in Japanese is the word for "god" or "spirit" or "deity".  It comes from the Shinto religion, which is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people.  Shintō is composed of two ideographs.  The kanji above can also be called "shin", or "kami", and then 道 (dō or tō) meaning "way".  In other words, "Shinto" implies faith in the kami or spiritual life and harmony attained through worship and in communion with the kami.  It is an all-inclusive term embracing the various faiths which have the kami-idea (including Buddhism and Christianity).

So I decided to learn this Kanji character first because I found it interesting how my nickname had a deeper meaning in Japanese culture and spirituality.  

Now for the Kanji!

神
Kunyomi:  かみ - "kami"
Onyomi: シン - "shin", ジン - "jin"
Meaning: god(s), spirit(s), mind, soul

Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 3
JLPT level N3
347 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.

神社 - "jinja" means Shinto Shrine

神主 - "Kan'nushi" means Shinto priest

神風 - "Kamikaze" means Kamikaze (in WWII a Japanese aircraft loaded with 

explosives that would make a deliberate suicidal crash on enemy targets),

or it means mysterious wind.

神隠し - "Kamikakoshi" means mysterious disappearance. 

Next Kanji