Togakushi mythological village (1/2)

Lost in the heart of Japanese Alps, within Nagano prefecture, Togakushi village remains an oasis of serenity since centuries. Surrounded by hills and mountains, this pilgrimage site takes gorgeous red and orange colors in Fall. It is still barely known by the foreign toursit crowd, not so surprisingly since it is a ninja (spies speclialised in the ninjutsu hidding techniques) village too!

Let's discover a place marked by History, stories and sacred mythology.

In Japan's mythology, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu hides into a cave called Ama no Iwato, because of the bad conduct of her brother; consequently taking away light from the Earth.
To get her out of the cave, the other gods throw a party. Festivities are in full swing and laugters are louder, so the curious Amaterasu finally gets out from her hideout. Gods gave back light to the Earth and threw the door away to be sure that it won't happen again.
This door is believed to have change into the Togakushi mountains.

The Kuzuryū dragon - an other Japanese divinity - would have appeared after hearing the echo of the door being swing away and would have get down to Earth creating at the foot of the mountain the Togakushi temple.
Hasard or not, this deity if often associated with water and you will find the astonishing Kagami-ike pond not so far from the temple. Moreover, Togakushi is frequently covered with mist and by mountain's rain.
You can also find a statue of Kuzuryû at the entrance of temples, above the temizuya: a fountain used to wash mouth and hands before praying.

Therefore, the creation of the temple of Togakushi is based on this legend. Known as a power-place, it consists of five temples older than 2000 years.

But the story is not that easy: there is more to say. This temple was built at a time where buddhist and shinto believes were living side by side in harmony. Initially it was a buddhist temple and monks came to follow some training and medidtate. But they transformed it into a shintoist temple to welcome piligrims, after the Meiji era. Indeed, a period of buddhism rejection occured during the Meiji restoration, especially with shinbutsubunri, a word to depict the legal interdiction of mixing kami gods (from shintoism) and buddhas.

Marked by legends and natural beauty, the five temples pilgrimage has gained popularity amongst Japanese people.

After this both historical and mythological introduction, we will guide you through your journey into the five temples and the other parts of the village in the next blog.

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