The Forgotten Shrine

by Jerusha Songate (Japan)

I didn't expect to find Japan

The Forgotten Shrine By Jerusha Songate “18 degree celsius, in Awaji, Japan, up for a walk?”, said my friend, Jiang. I said, “Lets take our bikes, and if we find an off-beaten track, we can park our bikes and walk.” Open to that idea, Jiang got excited and started to formally put on her riding pants and shoes. Packed us some tuna – mayo onigiris and one bottle of Pocari due to the numerous vending machines in and around the island. Riding our electric bikes on the long winding sloppy road, with onion farms on our left and right, we enjoyed the cool summer breeze hitting our faces. I felt like a movie star and I could not stop smiling while enjoying the picturesque countryside. After seemingly riding for a short distance, we came across a lake that we had previously chanced upon one night. We called it our 2-moon lake because a couple of nights ago we had stood there admiring the shadow of the moon on the lake. I recall that night vividly due to the moon’s shadow on the lake and the warm feeling that I had of being in a Charlotte Bronte novel, Jane Eyre. The novel I fell in love with while growing up. We parked our bikes and sat on the edge of the lake, swinging our legs just above the water, hoping that our shoes wouldn't fall inside, while enjoying the bucolic summer countryside of Awajishima. The island also known as the first island of Japan, currently receiving only 2% of tourists compared to Tokyo. While we were sitting and enjoying our onigiris. We heard the sounds of birds cooing and the sounds of what could possibly be either an animal or a human! We decided to investigate the soundwave of this unknown sound. While contemplating which track to take, Jiang saw a baby turtle on the road. Scared that a car would come along and crush it due to the narrow road. We stood there for a while until the baby turtle was out of harm’s way, while I thought where could its mother be? We then took a pathway that had a welcome sign for a hike in Japanese kanji and felt it was a safe bet. As we entered that pathway, we made sure to trudge slowly, as the ground felt slippery due to the rain from the previous night. The trees in the forest were green, tempered with a couple of brown leaves, due to the start of summer and the end of spring season. This forest wasn’t the beautiful Japan that we knew. There were no sakura blossoms or lilies. It was just fallen greenish brown leaves on the ground, the ghostly movement of the trees, the sound of the howling wind and the “unknown sound”. The sounds weren’t growing stronger or thinner but were still the same and faint. So, we decided to trudge on, we kept walking upwards and came to an abrupt stop. It was there, Jiang and I found a beautiful untouched chiisai shrine. It was like a bird house, about 2 feet, triangle in shape hammered onto a 3 feet pole. We had no idea who built it and how long it was there for. Beside the small shrine, there was a board written in Japanese kanji. Using our ever dependable google translate since we could only read basic Japanese. We were able to understand that this was a shrine for lovers. The shrine remained untouched as it had dust all over it. Inside the shrine, there was a stone about the size of two palms. A white cloth lay beneath the stone that had a bit of rust on it. We wondered who left the stone inside and what significance did it have. Suddenly, overcome by emotions we felt we were in a sacred place and said a prayer. We then stood there for some time in silence, with the unknown sound forgotten. Taking in the moment of the forest, the smell, the sounds and the warm taste of the beginning of summer. We then walked back slowly and quietly to our bikes each immersed in our own thoughts.