Cemeteries to visit Japan

It is the largest cemetery in Kōya-san. Along the aisles, more than two hundred thousand tombs of daimyō, religious (including Daishonin and Shinran), samurai or simple people were built. The best thing is to enter the Niveau-hashi bridge and follow the driveway that goes into the forest. The driveway is all the more impressive in the morning or evening, when it is lit in the glow of the lanterns. At the north end of the cemetery is the Tōrō-dō where you can burn thousands of lanterns. Two of them are supposed to burn since the th century. Immediately afterwards, the Mizumuke Jizo, of the rows of statuettes of Jizo, standing at the foot of the Gobyo-no-hashi bridge. By crossing the bridge, you don't need to talk anymore. At the end of the road, you will reach the mausoleum of Kūkai, also known as Ereader Daishi. According to the tradition Shingon, Kūkai is a very important character because he must help the Buddha of the Future, during his coming, to salvation of souls.

It seems rather curious for a tourist to go to a cemetery, but in noisy Tokyo, cemeteries are not inconsiderable spaces of peace. There are some graves or memorials of famous people, such as the tomb of General Nogi, winner of the Russian-Japanese war, or novelists like Naoya Shiga, or Kabuki actors, like Danjurō Ichikawa. The crossing of the cemetery leads to Aoyama Palace. It is also a picnic spot for the Japanese at the time of the cherry blossoms.

The Gokoku-Ji, temple of the Buzan sect of Shingon Buddhism is the oldest and the biggest temple of the Edo period in Tokyo. It was built in 1681 and over the years, new buildings have been added to this impressive complex. One can see a belfry dating from 1682 and a two-level pagoda built in 1938. The Zoshigaya Cemetery is adjacent to the temple. It houses the graves of the writer Lafcadio Hearn, who became a Japanese citizen at the end of the 19th century, and of the missionary John McCaleb.