Ame ame fure fure*
August 29, 2008 | Filed Under Uncategorized
The incense hangs thick in the air and stings my eyes as I enter the dark room. I hardly finish my prostrations before the priest begins,
“You perceive the world through the six senses. Each perception you treat favorably, unfavorably or don’t care about. Each are perceived as past, present or future. Each you believe brings happiness or unhappiness. Multiply these combinations, 6 x 3 x 3 x 2, and you have 108 ways to perceive the world.”
I nod. Math is my home ground, and I feel clever. Then he cuts me down.
“All of them are false. Count them, your false perceptions, one to one hundred and eight. This is the alphabet of zen.”
He rings the bell at his side. I must leave.
—-
It’s been raining for weeks. Lightning has kissed the city almost every day, an unprecedented number of storms. The percussion wave hits the building a few seconds after each flash, and I can almost imagine a mighty war raging at the fringes of the metropolis.
The mountains are out of bounds. Each weekend carries reports of more deaths of the unwary, be it by lightning, flash floods or landslides. Friends send messages, “How is it where you are?”, “Is there anywhere safe to climb?”, “I’m going to go crazy if I can’t get to the mountains!”, and I cannot give them advice of any use.
I count my breaths, one to one hundred of eight, and try to enumerate all those false perceptions. But I’m going crazy too. I need to move. I pile 20kg into my pack, and try to find a vertical world where my quads can pound and my lungs can bellow for air. The metal door to the emergency stairs of the building opens and I perceive a pale immitation of the world I seek.
I plunge into the bowels of the building, then start the climb to the top. Boots clang on the metal stairs, but otherwise this world is silent apart from the occasional swoop of the elevators that rush past outside. There are two sets of stairs per floor; I push, and make the top in twenty minutes. Wiping the sweat from my eyes, I make out the sign on the top door of the building: Floor 54.
Two sets of stairs per floor. Fifty four floors. One hundred and eight sets of stairs. So I perceived them.
The mountains are calling. It won’t be long. As the 108th Psalm of the New Testament has it, “My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready”.
——————————————————
*from a Japanese nursery rhyme:
Ame, ame, fure, fure kasan ga
Janome de omukae
Ureshii na
Pichi, pichi, chapu, chapu, ran, ran, ran
Rain rain, pour pour!
I’m glad Mother’s coming for me with her umbrella.
Drip drip, drop drop, pour pour pour!
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Climbing the stairs rather then climbing the mountains just pales in comparison. It would be like me having to ride a stationary bike rather then being able to get out on my real bike and hitting the road for 60 miles of riding.
It’s just not the same.
Sure isn’t the same… Just can’t believe the storms we’re having, never seen anything like it. Weeks and weeks on end..
Priceless. You manage to write fascinating material even while stuck in your apartment block! 20kg on your back for stairclimbing was an inspired idea.
Isn’t the weather abominable? Lightning lit up the house throughout the night, and a 5 am weather check this morning showed a heavy rain warning from Kyushu to Tohoku, so I unpacked the car and slunk back to bed. Reading your post this morning, it’s consoling to think I’m not the only frustrated one.
Aye, you’re not alone, Hanameizan, I think everyone is pretty frustrated… When I woke up this morning the rain had stopped, there was blue sky and I could see out to the Chichibu ranges. But now I’m watching a big grey front of storm clouds roll in from the Pacific towards the Alps and over towards your way.. Guess I’ll be hitting those stairs again this afternoon
I waited almost a year to have enough time to do a good long hike this summer, and now that I had my month off these rains roll in on the same day that my vacation starts. I’ve been hiking in Japan since 1974 and in all those years I have never seen weather like this. Not only that but the area here in Chiba that I am in has flooded so badly in some parts that the trains keep closing down. (Luckily I have my folding sea kayak ready here on the second floor balcony, just in case I need to head out to sea from my apartment!) It is almost hard to believe, or, as I’ve been trying to dissuade myself from believing, the work of the gods to truly humble us. During the vacation I daily pulled out my gear and carefully laid everything out on the floor, going through all the extraneous items trying to whittle it down to the bare essentials, and then getting stuck with how I might deal with the torrential rain and lightning, only to come to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do. The mountains were out. I have a week left in the vacation and have resigned myself to seeing if I can head down to the Seto Nai Kai and settle for a lounge chair on the beach. I’m just not a beach person! I’ve got crags in my blood! I think I’m going to turn into a raving madman who dog paddles through downtown Tokyo with a pack on my back, muttering, “Anyone see the trail? Anyone find any bootprints in the mud to determine the trail?” Meanwhile, storm clouds are gathering yet once again outside my window.
rain? wow, no one told me! I’ve just returned from 3 days of hiking in Niigata, and guess what? Absolutely no rain during any of my hikes! It rained at night, but today (Sunday August 31st) the weather was absolutely stunning! Sometimes you just have to gamble and get out of Tokyo…..even on Saturday when it was cloudy it didn’t rain, and there was no fog, visibility for at least 100km in every direction except….you guessed it – Kanto!
I can share your frustration about the weather hindering your hiking trips. Even in Yuzawa, it’s hard to read the weather patterns. Somedays it’s forecast for rain, and it will be sunny, sometimes its the reverse. Lately it seems the Tanigawa-range has been blocking the Kanto clouds, so it’s been better here on the Niigata-side. Last year we would try time our big-mtn hikes with the typhoons, expecting a window of 2-3 clear days afterwards. This year it seems we haven’t been able to play that game, as we just haven’t seem many typhoons on the mainland. Anyway, I’m looking forward to September and the koyo-season, hopefully we’ll be able at long last check out some of the mountains around Hakuba.
The way I beat the bad weather blues is to jump a train and ride it for the amount of money equivalent to the date (i.e., 9/02=902 yen). Hop off and wander awhile…
Hi! I got out on Monday morning for Tanzawa and was in good luck. The weather cleared up that way starting late Sunday, and I spent Monday night. While the sunset was not crystal clear, the late night sky was very, very clear with an awesome sunrise and Fuji-san view breakfast. Not to mention all the horny things – deer – walking around;-) Looks like we’ll have another chance in that area starting next Wednesday to Friday time frame.
August – nice sunny days on my Ibaragi trip, big rain and thunder in Niigata. Here in central Saitama it has just been one week of great, wonderous thunderstorms, amazing.
Thanks for the photos and the philosophy.
Butuki – that’s really frustrating, I know you’ve been looking forward to logging some good time in the hills. Did you make it down to the Setonai-kai?
Wes – sasuga! Interesting that both you and George report better weather in Niigata, might be something to bear in mind for next year.
George – good to hear from you. Let’s hope for a better finish to the year, weather-wise. Haven’t been up to Hakuba at all this year as i’ve been mainly in the south alps – but koyo is so beautiful up there, maybe I should schedule a trip soon..
Ted – I like that idea – doesn’t work so well in January though
I’m actually getting concerned that I am beginning to enjoy hiking up and down all those stairs.
Kirt – I’m going up Fuji tonight, and then spending some time in the south alps over the weekend, so hopefully your forecast will prove right! Did you camp on Tanzawa?
Martin – sure has been an incredible month for weather.. I’ve never heard thunder as loud as the thunder you get in Saitama. It’s incredible, like the sky is breaking apart. I don’t want to jinx the weekend, but it looks like the sun might be coming out…