The Jous go to Tokyo

It has been too long since I've properly sat down and put in the time to do some blogging.  Part laziness and part distraction (Mandarin school was getting quite intense with the workload) attributed to what was a two month hiatus of typing my little heart out.  Time to catch up on some of the things I've been up to in the last couple of months.

For anyone who have been on my Facebook page have seen at least a post or two about my Grandma Jou.  In her mid-70s, she is the matriarch of my Dad's side of the family.  She was born in Taiwan when the island was under Japanese occupation, and was one of the few thousands of children lucky enough to get an education all the way through to high school.  Having been educated by the Japanese, she is fluent in the language, which allowed her to work as a tour guide for Japanese visitors in the 50's and 60's.  She is a woman who is fiercely independent, something I greatly admire, and when she's got an opinion on something, well, she lets you know it.  (I guess that's where I get it from.)

What's most impressive is that she raised five kids in a time when Taiwan was one of the poorest countries in the world.  Under military rule and still mostly an agrarian nation, there was little income for any family to work with.  She and my grandfather were able to send all of their kids to school and see to it that they all received university degrees.  Furthermore, they all were sent to Japan to receive Masters degrees and today, my Dad's siblings are all pretty successful - two work in business, two are doctors and one is a pharmacist.

The Family Jou in Ginza.

Recently, my grandmother has been diagnosed with lung cancer - her third time battling this disease.  Unfortunately, the prognosis doesn't look great this go around, but she has a positive outlook on the situation.  Her optimism comes from her deeply rooted belief in a branch of Buddhism called Nichiren Shoshu, something she acquired in her youth when the Japanese influence on Taiwan was still very strong.  This school of Buddhism comes from Japan from the teachings of a 13th Century Buddhist monk named Nichiren.  It's main temple is found at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, and my grandmother was determined that her entire family was to go on a pilgrimage with her to say a prayer at the Mecca of her religion.  Of course, everyone obliged.

It is a shame we didn't get a chance to do more things in Tokyo due to our limited amount of time, but we did spend an entire day in the Ginza district, another epicentre of sorts for those who adopt shopping as a religion.  Since my grandmother has to use a wheelchair, it took us most of the day to get from one end of Ginza to another.  The street is the 5th Avenue of Tokyo, lined with shops after shops of luxury brands and department stores that rival that of Harrod's and Saks.  I could barely afford anything on this street, but I wasn't doing any window shopping - I was mostly people watching.  This is where the best dressed residents of Tokyo come and parade their fashion sense for visitors to see.  Tokyoites are much like their Parisian counterparts, due to their overwhelming appreciation for food, fashion and culture.  At one point, we were even treated to a conga line of classic cars, driven by men clearly going through midlife crises with passengers being either their daughters or second wives (cough...mistresses).   Ginza was buzzing - and to think that there's a recession still going on here.

The vintage car parade.

I have to give my grandma props - she went a whole day almost 10 hours of sitting in her wheelchair and shopping while I was about to drop from exhaustion at around three in the afternoon.  Even after this amount of shopping, she was still up to having a family party in her hotel suite - the eight of us feasted on food and wine bought at the fancy department store earlier that day.  In Japan, the premium department stores all have food stalls in the basement selling incredible looking (and tasting food).  I basically ate with my eyes walking through the various displays.

I want to go to there.

With no rest for the wicked, we headed out for the temple the next day at about 7am in the morning.  It was a three hour drive to get there, and I'm pretty sure all of us, except for my grandmother, were slightly hungover.  We get to the Nichiren temple two hours late due to the horrendous Tokyo traffic.  Like most of my traveling companions know, whenever I'm in a moving vehicle, I behave like I've just been roofied - so I was mostly passed out the entire way to the temple.

To say that the temple is nothing short of impressive is an understatement.  With Mount Fuji serving as a backdrop, three large gates lead up to the main temple - which is about the size of a football stadium.  Once inside, you are led through hundreds of pews to your seat facing a gold plated wall.  Upon the ringing of the ceremonial bell, hundreds of monks stream through the doors on either side of the altar and the panels of the gold plated wall start to fold back to reveal the most elaborate altar I've ever seen.  Standing three stories tall, there are two smaller altars that need to be manually opened by a monk before the formal prayers could begin.

The Nichiren Temple.  Incredibly big.

If this didn't impress, then the full hour of simultaneous chanting was something to experience.  Everyone had a small book of scripture that they have memorized and chanted to rhythmically for the full hour.  I had no idea what they were chanting, even though I was able to make out a few of the Chinese characters in the scripture.  With a string of beads wrapped in their hands adding in clicking sounds as they rubbed against each other, the prayers sounded like a hypnotic piece of music.

Mount Fuji appears after an afternoon hiding behind clouds and fog.

And just as it began, it ended in the same fashion, the altar doors were closed, the wall panels folded back into place and the procession of people exited quietly.  Strolling through the temple's expansive gardens and monk dormitories, the experience was enchanting.  This being the third religious holy site that I've visited in my lifetime, it was equally as breathtaking as the Vatican and the Potala Palace.  There is a sense of serenity in the gardens, plenty of places to go and meditate, away from the noises and sounds of the city.

The gardens of the temple.  Super serene.

Most of all, my grandmother was truly happy with having her family accompany her to this holy place, you could see the energy in her eyes.  I've never seen her so happy.  I was very lucky to have had the chance to travel with my family, especially my grandmother, since this will most likely be her last trip overseas.  I learned a lot about the sense of one's duty to your family, the importance of caring for those who gave you so much.  I was grateful for the lessons learned and being able to observe the interactions of this dynamic family with very different personalities.  While they didn't convert me to their religion, I could see how this faith has shaped the foundation of their life.  I am impressed with the amount of faith they have in the Nichiren - it's something that I don't think I'll be able to achieve with any religion.

Goodnight Tokyo.
Strike another item off my bucket list of things to do: this Jou family trip is something I'll treasure.