Introduction
Issue 5: Hikes, Pilgrimages and Journeys in Japan
In this issue we introduce books—classic and new—on the many famous journeys through Japan documented via guidebooks and travelogues. We cover mountain hikes, old roads to Edo, ancient pilgrimage trails, an island-hopping excursion and nation-crossing peregrinations. From classic must-read travel writing such as Oliver Statler’s Japanese Pilgrimage and Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea to Japan’s More…
Podcast
BOA Podcast 5: William Scott Wilson, author of Walking the Kiso Road
In this episode of the “Hon” podcast, host Amy Chavez talks with William Scott Wilson, author and translator of over a dozen books on Japan and China. They briefly discuss a few of these including, Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (by Yamamoto Tsunetomo), The Book of 5 Rings (by Miyamoto Musashi), and Cultivating Ch’i: A Samurai Physician’s Teachings on the Way of Health (by Kaibara Ekiken) before they zero in on the writing of Walking the Kiso Road. In this episode the author reveals a surprising fact about himself that we never knew before! (hint: If you like to kayak, you’ll definitely want to check this out). Show Notes available by clicking “more” below but be warned, they include spoilers.
Emplacing a Pilgrimage
The Ōyama mountain cult and beliefs, practices, and infrastructure associated with the sacred site
Hiking and Trekking in the Japan Alps and Mount Fuji
The best guide to hiking the Japan Alps and Mount Fuji. All you need to know!
Hitching Rides with Buddha
Join Ferguson as he hitch-hikes 2,000 miles across Japan following the cherry blossoms.
Japan’s Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage
New Release! The first English guidebook ever to the Kumano Kodo UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage.
Japanese Pilgrimage
The book that started started it all for foreigners venturing out on the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage.
Kyoto Journal 90: old roads, revisited
This issue of the magazine digs deep into the historical aspect of some of the most ancient roads.
Making Pilgrimages
For those who want to delve more deeply into meaning and practice of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
Narrow Road to the Deep North
Haiku poet Basho’s famous account written in the 1600’s.
One Hundred Mountains of Japan
The book that inspired foreigners to tackle the “hyakumeizan,” Japan’s 100 mountains.
Shank’s Mare
Japan’s most celebrated comic novel of the Tokaido, originally published in 1802.
The 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage of Takamure Itsue
The earliest account of the Shikoku Pilgrimage in English, written by a female journalist.
The Inland Sea
The classic travel journal on island-hopping in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea
The Roads to Sata
A travel classic, Alan Booth’s walk across 2,000 miles of rural Japan.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
An eye-opening account of a solo woman’s journey through Japan on horse, carriage and foot in 1878.
Walking the Kiso Road
Step back into old Japan in William Scott Wilson’s fascinating modern travelogue.
New Writing
Excerpt—Choosing the Right Straw, by Edward Levinson
on the road’s edge 道の端 five snake gourds からすうり五個 protect the mountain 山護る (michi no haji, karasu uri go-ko, yama mamoru) I knew all about the magic of using rice straw. It is one of the main methods of Fukuoka-san’s Natural Farming (see One Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka). In the mountains of Kyōto, his More…
New Writing
Visiting Holy Places, by Eve Kushner
How many cartoons have I seen in which a man climbs a craggy precipice in search of a wise religious figure? Why must sages dispense advice from the highest places? To put it more broadly, why do people think that one has to ascend to find religious purity? It must be related to the idea More…