Quest for the Pagoda

Today I went on a quest for a pagoda.


Heading back on the train from Tokyo on New Years, I spoted it. Near Kofu station it towered high and staitly and called to me.

So this morning I got up, grabbed a map of kofu, my bike, and my camera and went on a quest.

Riding along the side of the train tracks, I suddenly saw its tip in the distance. According to my map it was at a buddhist temple - Chozenji-Temple.

I parked my bike and saw a huge wooden framed structure, like a temple with no walls. I walked through this skelton of a building and came to a pathway.


The pathway led through an opening in a wall and I came into a tree filled japanese garden. I heard a family in the distance. They were chatting happily as they picked a wooden bucket from a pile of many and filled it with water. Then they appeared to disapear down a path that wound through a line of bushes on the right.

I followed.

The path led to a graveyard filled with tombstones that ran up the side of a hill. I soon found myself tranfixed. I wandered through worn steps past various families headstones. I soon found myself drawn to these small statues that would often be placed near the headstones.

They had the sweetest expressions, like babies that just learned to smile. I started taking pictures of them.


Then I saw the family again up ahead. Quietly I watched from a distance as they poored water from their wooden bucket over a grave sight and proceeded to wash the stone clean. They were happily chatting among themselves. Two young boys and their mother. Then they placed flowers they had with them beside the grave and lit a cluster of inscense sticks. Quietly I left , without them noticing.


I wandered back out of the graveyard and back out infront of a large wooden temple. Then I saw the pagoda in all its glory. It was on the left of a low wooden temple. It rose grandly above everything bellow. I drew closer. Then I noticed there was a smaller, pink pagoda near it. They reminded me of a big brother and little sister hanging out together.



Circling around the large pagoda, i came across more gravestones farther on. Then I saw this stone stepway that led into an area surrounded by a high stone wall. It was overgrown with weeds and reminded me of the enterance to the secret garden.

I ascended the steps and saw two statues of lions with their cubs on either side of the enterance. Walking past them I saw, what appeared to be, 5 very large grave stones and many various stone lanterns scattered about. There was a real quiet beauty to the whole place. I felt my whole body growing calm.

Walking back past the pagoda near to where I entered the temple grounds I noticed a pond surrounded by trees.

I approached the pond and remembered how I had seen something similar at Nitobe gardens (at UBC in Vancouver). I had gone on a tour there with a Japanese literature class I was in. We were told that the island, which had a bridge attaching it to the main garden, symbolized the afterlife. I noticed a small wooden plank leading from the garden to the island. Although part of me feared falling off into the murky water bellow, i braved the plank and crossed to the center of the island. Looking around at the trees and the pagoda and temple beyond. I felt like I was really looking back on my life and saying, "gee that wasnt so bad". It was a quiet amazing moment.

Leaving Chozenji-Temple I decided to continue on a explore more hidden wonders in the temples around Kofu....