Waterfall practice 滝修行
The sacred mountain, Ontake-san 御嶽山, is a volcano that pierces the sky at 3,067 meters. The mountain stands alone, independent from the Hida and Kiso ranges that flank it to the north and east.
From far away Ontake-san appears smooth and rounded, like a dome. However, exploring the mountain’s broad base up close one begins to understand that its geography is much actually much rougher. Ontake-san was birthed through slow, yet violent, uplifts that heaved the massif up into the air one layer at a time, creating something more akin to a wedding cake. Ontake-san, therefore, might be thought of like a digital image: coherent and continuous when gazed at from afar, but jumbled and chaotic when viewed closer up.
This physical geography has played havoc with Ontake-san’s hydraulic system. Rivers are forced to find their ways down the great mountain and its intricate robe of canyons, valleys, and ravines that often turn abruptly or drop vertically in maze-like complexity. A series of magnificent waterfalls is the result of this geologic hullabaloo.
The photo above is of shin-taki 新滝 (meaning “new waterfall”), one of two major waterfalls used for spiritual practice by those who revere Ontake-san. Mountain ascetics, known as yama-bushi 山伏, (as well as anyone else with enough courage) stand below the falls and let the waters pummel them. The practice is known as taki-shu-gyou 滝修行. I can’t give an accurate account of what this practice entails, or of what it is meant to instill in the practitioner, but I think it’s safe to call it a form of meditation.
I’ve tried taki-shu-gyou once and it was quite an interesting experience. The pain of the water hitting my head and shoulders was more of a shock than the freezing snow-fed water. Several sets of the white robes and waraji わらじ (rice straw sandals) used by practitioners are usually available in small huts that sit below the falls. So, if you’ve the interest, and you’ve the guts, come on over to Ontake-san and give taki-shu-gyou a try.
The nearest train station to Ontake-san is Kiso-fukushima 木曽福島 on the JR Chuo Line JR中央線.
Contributor Bio: I am a doctoral student of environmental anthropology currently living and conducting research in a mountain village in Nagano. In my research I explore modernity as it is expressed in a rural mountain community. Specifically I look at national management structures, as well as social discourses, related to forests and probe the impacts these have on local human communities. I have lived and worked in Japan for 5 years. My interests also include Buddhism, literature, music, and mountaineering. Read more at my personal blog: In the Pines.
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