< Kagerou >
= “Heat haze” or “Ant-lion” >

 

—–calligraphy by Ippiki-Danuki,
picture and composition by Ahomaru—–

( “Heat haze” and “Ant-lion”=a kind of insect which is known as short life, are a same pronunciation, “KAGEROU”, in Japanese. So these two words are often used for pun in many Japanese artistic literatures. )

In Japan, there is a Buddhism pilgrimage called “meguri ” or “henro ”, similar to other religions. The pilgrimage visits 33 temples, worshipping the “Avalokitesvara = Kanzeon Bodhisattva = Kannon Bosatsu ”.
However, after Buddhism dignitaries “Kukai (=Singon sect in Koyasan mountain)” and “Saicho (=Tendai sect in Hieizan mountain)” naturalized “Micchioo =esoteric Buddhism ” from Nepal and China, a new pilgrimage called “Henro-88 temples in Shikoku area” was spread. The “Shikoku ” area is the birthplace of “Kukai ”, too. He advocated, “People can attain the spiritual enlightenment in this world, not in next world”.

By replacing philosophic words for religious words, this religious philosophy resembles Western existentialism. This pilgrimage is taken for religious ascetic or their disciplines, wearing white costume jast like the dead, stick and a cotton priest bag which inscribed “Doukou Futari ”= “with two people” on it. (“With two people” describes “with Kukai” , that is to say, one person is the pilgrimage and the other is “Kukai ” priest.)

This piece takes the form of drama .
There once was a pilgrim, on his bag was written “Doukou Sannin ”= “with three people”. He wanted to take his fiancee, whoes life was cut short like “ant-lion (insect)=kagerou ”. He started the pilgrimage alone, with a rose like her hair clip. Reaching the seaside, he was confronted by a “heat haze=kagerou ”, causing his vision to double. In the “heat haze=kagerou ” he saw the silhouette of a couple. He did not know if they were playing or quarreling.
He did not realize that the silhouette was of him and his fiancee’s past life or simple others… But, he was not worried if he did not find the true answer. Not trouble by the problem, “henro” was circular pilgrimage like “Rinne =”metempsychosis.

“In the temporary fragileness of passion, life goes by. In time and space, all things are forever changing by the minute.”