Nathaniel Sharratt reports on the road from the Zen of Spirit retreat to rural northern Japan with John-Roger & John Morton and 58 participants.
The look on people’s face when they realized that John-Roger and John Morton had arrived was one of delight and joy. All welcomed the two Travelers and their traveling companions with open arms and warm hearts.
The participants apparently hadn’t been informed of when J-R and John would arrive, making it a pleasant surprise when their taxi’s showed up where the group was shopping at Ando’s store in the small northern Japanese town of Kakunodate.
A chill was in the air, and sporadic bursts of rain were typical on this first day with the Travelers, but that didn’t hinder the group in exploring the ins and outs of Japanese culture.
Our first stop was the home of the Sato family and their beautiful 200 year old house. We then crossed the street to Andoya, a local miso and soy sauce making business which has been run by the same family for 300 years and is located in an exquisitely polished wooden complex.
The group was taken into the treasure filled room where the family’s weddings took place, and Ando-san shared with us wisdoms that had been passed down through her family. One interesting note is that this particular family was matriarchal since the business was passed down through the women of the family, and some of the men would marry into the family and the business.
Ando-san shared with the group the traditional code by which the merchants lived. First, they were to work every day. Second, they were to work with joy. If they couldn’t do it with joy, then they were directed to change what they did for their job, as long as they worked with joy. Finally, they were to keep their business strong and pass it down to their children. Though they would pass the business down to the children, she said that the elders should spend their money and not leave it to their children (which brought wild laughter from our group).
She also shared some on the process of getting married, especially how it was done in the past. One fun artifact that was in the wedding room was a case full of arrows. These arrows were used during the Samurai time, their feathers were taken from eagles, and their worth is approximately $10,000 each.
The next part of the day was spent touring the Samurai district. Kakunodate is one of the few places that has preserved actual Samurai houses and artifacts since the collapse of the system. The Samurai system was abolished during the 1860s, but seeing the ancient armor, the swords and the various tools brought the ways and lives of the Samurai back to life.
When we visited one of the lower class Samurai’s house (the lower class Samurai were the foot soldiers), we had the privilege to see a demonstration by one of three living masters at this specialized craft of basket making. The shoppers in our group really seemed to like the baskets, buying a lot of what the master had made.
Then came a banquet of local specialties for lunch, set in a 300 year old farm house.
Lunch was followed by free time before boarding the buses and heading back to the hotel for a hot spring bath, another banquet dinner and a wonderful sharing session with our Traveler, John Morton.
