In June, the couple that teach me Japanese invited me to join them on a trip Izumo Grand Taisha, the oldest shrine in all of Japan. Few foreigners venture out to this part of Japan, largely because there’s not much to see. However, in Izumo, amidst endless rice patties, sits a landmark site in Japanese civilization, dating back until at least the 7th century.
Around ten in the morning my teacher rolled up in his new Lexus, and insisted I sit in the passenger seat; forcing his wife to sit in the back. Since I’m always writhing in pain in my school’s twenty-year old office chair, with my knees scrapping the bottom of my desk, and shins hitting the bar that stretches horizontally ten inches off the ground, the Lexus felt like paradise. (I actually really like my schools. I’m just not always comfortable.) After a four hour drive through lush forests and towering mountains in the Japanese countryside, we were welcomed by throngs of visitors who made the same pilgrimage to this historic site. We walked around the shrines’ ground for almost two hours, just taking in the history, beauty, and craftsmanship of the ancient wooden buildings. Perched on a small hill, a large tori gate marks the entrance of the shrine. Upon entering, three pine tree lined walkways run parallel to each other en route to the main shrine. My Japanese teacher told me not to walk in the center lane, as it is reserved for the shrines’ deities.
While in front of the shrine, I...