TRAVEL ｜PARENTING
My 4-Year-Old Climbed 785 Steps and Taught Me How to Be Gritty
A lesson on raising kids from the steps of Konpira-san
Parents tend to underestimate children’s abilities even after they have started building social connections outside the home. Memories of changing diapers and feeding helpless infants are hard to shake.
As a mother, I thought there were so many things I should teach my daughter, from learning the alphabet to building resilience. And sometimes that was challenging for me because I’m not a naturally patient person—despite patience being one of the national characteristics that Japanese people are proud of.
Patience is a virtue that I’ve never seen much value in. I played hooky from time to time ever since kindergarten. I changed my jobs when I didn’t like the corporate culture or felt burnt out; I’m the last person you’d ask to teach your children patience.
However, an opportunity to realize the true meaning of grit suddenly arose during my family trip to Kagawa. And I stopped worrying about resilience, too.
Konpira-san: The Shrine with 1368 Steps
It happened when I visited Kotohira-gū, better known as Konpira-san to locals. It’s a Shintō shrine…
