Osu-Kannon temple and market

Near where I live is a place called Osu-Kannon, home to aお寺(otera, “Buddhist temple”) and open air shopping center. Hereafter I’ll refer to it as a marketplace, but you have to understand that this place is essentially 8 city blocks of storefront, crisscrossing each other with multi-story buildings containing everything from thrift stores to luxury shopping (the kind where someone wearing expensive clothes follows you around to help you spend money faster).

Going from the subway station to the marketplace, you will likely pass through the temple gates and through the courtyard on the way. As I understand it, the patron of this temple is Kannon (I’ve also seen it spelled Kwannon, likely depending on what language it’s being transliterated from). Kannon is a goddess of mercy in Buddhism, and is often prayed to by persons who want assistance from the gods in getting something.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it on this blog before, but scholars of Japan often stress that it’s a place of extreme opposites. This is certainly the case in Osu. The temple is an island of stillness and serenity in a sea of urban life: traffic, smog, high-rise buildings, dirt, convenience stores and people, always people. Stepping through the gates is like entering another world, which is mostly inhabited by pigeons.

Yes, you read that right. At Osu temple you can donate a token amount of money for some birdseed, or you can just hang out and feed them (they’re tame enough to handfeed) if you feel like it. Bear in mind, this is an ethnocentric summary since I’d bet there’s a reason for the pigeons which I haven’t yet found out. I thought you might find it interesting. The courtyard is an excellent place to just sit and reflect on your life in America and what you want to do when you graduate from school then make a mental list of what you need at the grocery store. The perimeter at ground level is obscured by trees, which also cut down on noise, so it’s very peaceful. The temple itself is also quite a thing to see. Unfortunately, the original structure was completely destroyed by fire during the Meiji period roughly 200 years ago. It was reconstructed (meticulously and accurately I expect, it being Japan) in 1970 and stands today as an amazing piece of architecture.

We went inside the temple for a few minutes, just to check things out. The interior was pitch dark except light coming in through the doors and a fire burning in the center of the room, beyond a waist high barrier which delineates public space. You couldn’t even see the far wall. It was very quiet inside and we observed a group of Chinese tourists praying and making offerings. I am not a religious person, but I make an effort to understand (or experience, when I can) other people’s religious practices. I’m a big fan of Buddhism for the most part, mainly because the most widely agreed upon tenants can be ham-handedly summarized by me as: your actions affect others, so take responsibility for them because in the end you’ll help yourself just as much. Also, don’t overcomplicate your life: do what you want in a way that is good for you but isn’t bad for others, including yourself. Come on, how can anyone disagree with that? Yes, yes, I know. Modern life, as defined by the “developed” world, makes it extremely difficult. You can’t even get a drink of water without progressing the chain of hydrocarbon dependence. Fortunately for us all, this is the Japan Adventure Time blog, not the Existentialistic Depression Time blog, so we’ll leave it at that.

The market itself is a remarkably overstimulating place, at least the first time you go. As I mentioned, you can find just about anything there (except cars and real estate). Yes, I mean that you can go to Osu to buy a shirt with humorously bad English, or you can buy a laptop and a washing machine. It’s a strange experience from my own cultural standpoint: all the stores are open to the outside (no doors) and you can buy computers and cameras and stuff. In the US, a similar arrangement would essentially guarantee that the merchandise was stolen. In Osu, the appliance stores have salespersons milling around, ready to tell you all about a microwave oven. There are duty-free shops, which require a certain amount of administrative communication with Japanese customs. There’s also a lot of awesomely good food; you can eat curry, burgers, tacos(!!), okonomiyaki*, and tasty, tasty ice cream, to name a few.

We’re heading to Kyoto early tomorrow morning, but I wanted to catch you up a little bit before then. Next time: Party of the Future and ryokan (Japanese-style inn).

*お好み焼き(okonomiyaki) translates roughly to “cooking as you like it” or “cook what you like.” Okonomiyaki is made of varying combinations of vegetables and meats, usually cabbage, mixed in batter according to the diner’s preference, then cooked flat on a grill. I’ve heard it referred to as “Japanese pancakes” or “Japanese omelets.” However one tries to describe it, it’s simply delicious. If you ever go to Japan, I strongly recommend eating it at least once wherever you go. It’s prepared a little differently in different regions of the country.