Oh Deer

Miyajima is a small island off the coast of Hiroshima. A relaxing boat ride took us to its scenic shores in just under 45 minutes. Known as one of the most beautiful locations in Japan since the 1600s, the floating shrine” is definitely the focal point of the island’s beauty.

We arrived serendipitously (or probably, more likely, through Josh’s quiet, but strategic planning) right at high tide for the perfect view of the floating illusion. Both the shrine and its torii gate (pictured) give the illusion of floating in the sea when the water level is high enough.

The Shrine itself is an UNESCO world heritage site and the torii gate was first built in 593. The current torii gate was rebuilt in 1875. The shrine is dedicated to the “sanjoshin” or the three goddesses of the sea and storms. The island is a sacred space and full of beautiful shrines and temples throughout.

The whole island is curated to maintain an authentic “edo-era” and no births or deaths are supposed to occur on the island in order to preserve the purity of the sacred space.

One of M’s favorite things were the free roaming deer! Unbothered by humans, the deer walk and sleep and play on the streets in harmony with the people (including tourists). They are friendly and unaggressive but will definitely steal your lunch if you aren’t careful. M nearly lost her grilled squid to one and did lose a paper map she had been carrying around (because apparently the deer will eat paper).

Josh and I most enjoyed visiting the Buddhist temple complex ( Daishō-in) located on Mount Misen on the island. The area was founded in 806 by the monk who founded Shingon Buddhism.

We spent several hours exploring the mountain trails and entering the various temples along the way. Some even had a few secrets like a pitch-black underground passageway, a mirror showing your inner self and the “touch and cure” Buddha statue. I followed the instructions to rub “touch and cure” Buddha in the achy spot on my body and await my blessing. Not going to lie, my left knee had been really feeling strained after hauling Maeve up and down stairs when she grew too tired at the castle yesterday but after rubbing the statute I didn’t feel it again for the rest of the day!

Besides just the general beauty of the area with the maple trees and cherry blossoms in full bloom, the most incredible sight for me was the Henjo Cave.

Called the Hall of Boundless Light, the cave is actually and underground chamber beneath the Daishido Hall (the oldest building in the temple complex). It is full of softly lit lanterns which, obviously, inspired the cave’s name.

The cave contains 88 statues representing the deities of the 88 temples visited on the 750 mile Shikoku Pilgrimage around the county. Beneath each statue is a a glass panel which hold sand/dirt from each of the sacred sites.

Because one can stand on the earth from the temple, the blessing is said to be the same as if the temple was visited at its original location. The intention behind this cave is to bless followers who are unable to actually visit all 88 sites by allowing them to visit those they’ve missed - all in one semi-convenient location.