Mongols, Kamikaze, and a mountain in northern Japan
The Legend of Haguro-san's Bell Tower
Kia ora Koutou, Tim Bunting, Kiwi Yamabushi here on the Japan you never knew you wanted to know.
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I went to Haguro-san the other day, again, for probably the 20th or so time this year. When I shared a few shots, someone commented that the bell tower there was pretty rad. That person is indeed correct,
the bell tower is pretty rad.
And not just aesthetically. Historically and culturally too.
You see, the legend behind this humble structure is one for the ages. And, as with many historical tales from the 13th century, it involves the Mongols.
The Mongols?
Well, more specifically it involves a lack of Mongols. You know, thanks to Kamikaze.
Kamikaze?
Kami and Kaze. Kami = divine. Kaze = wind.
Divine wind.
But not the Kamikaze we have all come to know thanks to, I don’t know, WWII.
I’m talking the literal kind of Kamikaze.
Literally divine wind.
In 1274, dissatisfied with only having only the second largest Empire in history behind the British Empire, when the Mongols reached the Korean Peninsula, they planned an attack on Japan too. However, they failed to take into account the mighty priests of Haguro-san.
You see, the government requested for the priests of Haguro-san to pray for the Mongol invasion to fail.
And fail it did.
Because, if legend is anything to go by at least, when the priests of Haguro-san prayed, the sky turned black and a massive thunderstorm engulfed the area. Then suddenly, a rumble came from Kagami’ike, the small pond at the summit of Haguro-san, and out shot a nine-headed dragon king. The dragon king then flew towards the port city of Sakata, and on to Kyushu where the Mongols were, ruining any chance they had of landing in Japan.
Apparently.
And as a sign of appreciation, the government sent a giant bell-sized present to be adorned at the summit of Haguro-san. Or, at least, somehow the bell appeared at the summit.
At 2.85m-tall, 1.67m in circumference and 21.5cm thickness, the 10t bell is the third biggest in Japan, yet no one knows precisely how it came to be there. Was it forged somewhere else and somehow carried up to the top of Haguro-san, some 350 or so years before the stone stairway even existed? Was a mould brought up to the summit and the bell was forged there? Was the mould made up there?
Who knows?
Your guess is as good as mine.
And your guess is good as mine as to what happened the second time the Mongols failed to land in Japan in 1281. The second, much bigger attempt that saw thousands of ships and 140,000-odd men meet the same fate. Apparently. And these two events together are known as Kamikaze,
literally Divine Wind.
And a few more tidbits:
The belfry itself is a rebuild that dates back to 1617. This makes it the oldest structure to survive at the summit of Haguro-san. For perspective, nearby Sanjingosaiden, the ‘collective hall of the three kami’ was constructed a mere 200 years after the Belfry, in 1818. Sanjingosaiden has the thickest thatch roof in Japan, and is constantly under repair (true story). The monks can pray for weather to go and destroy their enemies, but they can’t pray for the heavy snow to stop ruining their precious building, it seems.
Oscar and Tom’s Japan Adventure
A few months back I mentioned meeting
while he was on an epic journey cycling the length of Japan. I admit, I too have thought about doing this before, never seriously though! That is one huge mission, and Oscar and Tom not only did it, but they recorded it and made one of the best videos I’ve seen about travel in Japan.Daily Yamabushi for This Week
Daily Yamabushi posts for the week of November 15 to 21, 2024.
Read Daily Yamabushi for free at timbunting.com/blog or Medium.com.
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Ka kite ano.
Tim.