The Tombs of Hagi
A quiet moment among the moss and stones
Afternoon was fading by the time I made my way to Tokoji Temple. The old wooden building nestles in a quiet forest on the edge of Hagi, and I soon found myself alone in a graveyard surrounded by trees.
Hagi has changed little with the times; old maps are still pretty accurate when wandering her medieval streets. The Mori Daimyo governed the city the during Edo period (1603–1868), and behind the temple are buried the odd-numbered rulers. (The even-numbered ones are spending their eternal sleep at Daishon Temple. The reason is unclear, but it may have been a way to hide the family’s wealth and influence from the emperor.)
Each tomb has its own stone torii gate, while down the centuries vassals of the Mori have donated hundreds of stone lanterns. Time has softened their edges and covered them with moss and lichen. Each year the lanterns are lit (along with those at the Daishon temple) during the Obon Festival, which welcomes the return of the souls of the departed…
