My Seattle trip has been on the cards for a fair few months now, ever since I finalised my thesis idea for my MA. My goal is to visit the Tsubaki Gran shrine of America, a Japanese shinto shrine located in seattle. The nature of my investigation is to see how exactly do the religions of Japan operate outside their native envirment of Japan. DO they have the same rituals, do the people still practice more than one faith, are the cultural elements still present and most importantly do the people attending it view it as a pure form of the religion ?
I am very excited about this trip as I have found little literature on the subject bar a text written by Dr. Yukitaka Yamamoto explaining some background to the shrine and the practice of Jinja Shintoism. This means that any research into this shrine will likely be well received by the academic community.
Due to transport issues and the lack of bus’ in the US I will require taxis which is a shame since it is very expensive and also makes my trip some what limited. I will however make the most of my time their and if at all possible take part in ritual practice. My main objective is to see who exactly attends the shrine, how they feel and also see what teachings take place which I hope I have ample time for.
I admit I have worried about this trip, being by first time alone. I am so used to traveling in Asia it makes me somewhat worried about what it is like travelling in the west, which I fear will be extremely expensive, and being entirely self financed I must be careful. Ironically the hotel near the shrine is available but due to budgetary requirements I was forced to book hotel and ticket at the same time at a reasonable cost. Oh well, perhaps next time…
So in preparation for my trip I am looking up Jinja shinto and also refreshing myself of all the Shinto teachings so I may conduct my survey with accuracy. I am glad I have been systematically looking at Shintoism for the past month or so and I feel having studied it for 3 years now I have ample knowledge of what to look for, but it always help to brush up, particually on termanology. Ive also to sort out my questions which I need to ask which I aim to have finished by this week. On top of this I have packing to do so I am extreemly busy.
So this week looks apsolutely chock ablock as I prepare to depart. Tomorrow I intend to raid the library on anything Jinja Shinto and make some additional notes before returning home to check my own personal library on the subject. May raid Jstor too, always has good infomation on such subjects.
Wedensday I have been asked to go see a family relitive, not sure why- nor why I should go see them particually as I have litarally no free time. I guess it may have some use, and dont get me wrong, I like this relative but I am just frustrated it comes at a time I have No free time at all. This will likely take up the whole day too.
Thursday my mother and I will venture into town to pick up some travel supplys, sort out insurance and start packing. Always good to have a women to help you pack I always say, men are usless at it an we always, and I mean always, forget the important things or overlook something we may need. This will probably eat into some of my saturday too.
Friday again I shall be back in the library cramming, may do some rewriting of my paper being I have to see my mentor after the seattle trip. Will also attend my final cell group before leaving, which will be nice, and the church elder often gives sound advice on observing asian cultural religions being shes from that region.
Saturday I aim to have my friend Dan round to resolve some matters regarding my laptop, or if it fails, to beg him if I can use his, and if so, venture into Shipley to get an USA adapter. This is due to the fact my laptop keyboard has been acting up, and I may well need to get a new laptop soon (grrr).
Sunday I will read some papers I have on other Japanese religions in the USA in order to see if any of these operate, and I will also follow up on tracking down a paper I located a while back regarding Japanese religion in Seattle. If time permits I will forward replies to my contacts in Seattle too to finalise some things. THis may have to wait till monday. Likely in the evening I shall be round at my mothers again sorting out last minute packing, before she herself leaves on a trip on monday.
Monday will be another busy day of reading, writing, note taking and producing questioners. I will also sort out my camera equipment and voice recorder which my sister currently has misplaced (always when you really need something, this happens).
Tuesday I will go to the PO and pick up my travel insurance an US currency, I will then phone the 2 taxi firs and book my travel to and from the shrine.
Thursday will be a day of rest and last minute checks to see that I have everything. I may also go through my notes one last time.
Friday I will head out early to Manchester airport, make sure my assistance requirments are in place (ie getting from plane to plane) and then off I fly to Seattle.
Friday still (I know, blasted timezones) I arrive at 4,30 where I will get a taxi to my hotel, get some rest and prob get a bite to eat. I will need an early night since I need to get a taxi at 6.30 to et to the shrine before 8. After that I will do my investigats and then head back either by bus or taxi that evening. Depending on the cost of the trip I may make additional visits though I am expecting the mother of all Taxi bills, even though the shrine is 1 hr away. Perhaps second trip I will get a bus, but first visit I wish to arrive early for morning ritual. I am also fortunate since there is a festival on that day which gives room for further research.
This will certainly be an adventure- I wish my usual travel buddy was here to come (still time May) but I thank her for helping me get to this level of confidence after loosing my eye. I am sure the results I find will be useful and will be well received back at Leeds.
I will try and update this blog throughout the period in Seattle to keep you all informed of my traveling experiences.
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