Monday, May 13, 2013

Robert Killmer

Of the many things I was excited to see here in Japan, the temples and shrines were high up on my list. Being a history major, I had read a lot on these sites and the history surrounding them. All of these temples lived up to what I thought they would be. My first encounter started our fist day here in Japan when a few of my friends and I were wandering around Tokyo, and spotted one and took a picture in front of it. On my first weekend here, I went to an island called Enoshima. I was surprised to know that my host father had known so much about it. My host family, and another classmate's family came, and we explored the island together. While I had some knowledge of the Japanese belief systems, there was still so much to learn. I was astonished by the beauty of these shrines, still standing on this island. There were three in total on the island of Enoshima. The first was the largest, but was the newest. It was quite an experience to walk up to it, and perform the purification process with the waters outside the shrine, and then walk through a rope portal. My family informed me of how to perform a proper Shinto prayer and without hesitation, my classmate Kara Maison'13 and I were excited to try. That was the first of three shrines that I saw on the island that day. The experience was like no other. To be completely immersed in history that I had only read about.
 On the second week of the trip, our class was in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. I was excited to see all of the ancient structure sprawled out across the city. It was incredible to see such old, historical sites right next to modern buildings you would find in any major city. We went on a tour of the city, which brought us to some of the major Buddhist Temples in Kyoto. I found myself comparing them to the Shinto Shrines of Enoshima in terms of customs, appearances, and history. These temples were built by some of the most powerful Shoguns of Japan, and showed the immense wealth and power that they held. I learned so much of these structure and history on this tour. As a class, it was great to come together and admire such amazing structures.
 Of the many things that I was excited for in Japan, my love for history and expectations of the shrines and temples truly held up. I have loved my entire experience here in Japan, and while being in a foreign country knowing little of the language can be very frustrating at times, I think it has taught me a great deal of humility and respect. I encourage anyone and everyone who loves history to come visit Japan and see some of the amazing sites around the country that I have witnessed.

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