Climbing Mount Ryogai

Orihime Shine is visible in the distance, halfway up the near slope.  Mt. Ryogai is perhaps one of the more distance peaks.


One the first day in Japan, while exploring the city and environs on foot, we visited the first of many shrines. Often located at the top of rather steep hills, reaching them required some effort, especially given that the weather was often mushiatsui desu. (Muggy or humid). We scaled two nearby hills in quick succession to reach the Boys Shrine and the (much smaller) Girl's Shrine. As we scaled the third high hill that housed the Orihime Shrine, we had the option on the itinerary of continuing further along the mountain ridge to reach the peak of Mount Ryogai. However as we examined the signs, it was difficult to tell exactly how far it was or how long it would take. The map was separated into stages and it seemed like it could be 90 minutes to the summit or more than 8 kilometers. Although I don't doubt we could have done it, it was approaching noon and the sun was blazing, so we decided not to, deferring it to a later unspecified time. Climbing Mount Ryogai became something of a mantra after that. It was referenced many more times. Stories were told of previous delegations that had made the trip and some of the mishaps that befell them, especially with regard to infamous shortcuts. The phrase Climbing Mount Ryogai could be a stand in for a sort of cautionary tale. A warning to avoid underestimating the difficulty and demands of an environment you are unfamiliar with. For me the phrase took on another meaning. The mountain I was climbing was called Japan. Would I be able to reach the peak in just two weeks? Would I come to know Japan in such a short time? Is there even a metaphorical peak that could be obtained if one had the time and patience? (It was mentioned more than once that there was nothing much to see at the summit except the view, uncharacteristically not even a shrine or ruins). Does Japan have a summit that could be scaled, much less conquered? I doubted this at the time and I still do. At the start of this journey I vowed to approach it with openness, reverence and respect. And although the journey was well begun, I do not feel that I have in any way accomplished or completed Japan. It is not a box to be ticked or something to be checked off as Done. I could return yearly for the rest of my life and never cease to be amazed and awe struck, to learn new things, to have new experiences and to garner new insights about a land, its people, its culture and its customs. On that day, whether we had made the 8 kilometer trip to the peak or not, I felt that I would always be climbing Mount Ryogai, that it would never be attained, never completed and that the journey to know Japan would go on for as long as I was willing to make the effort. 446 words