Remote Memorials in the Izu Peninsula
Yesterday, I visited an isolated memorial in the remote mountains of West Izu. The place is called Memorial to the Chinese Victims of Forced Labor. Near the end of WWII, 178 Chinese people were forcibly brought to work in alunite mines in the area. During that time, 82 of them died.
On my way home, my thoughts shifted from the cruelty of war to the many other monuments to people who died in remote parts of Izu. One is the 瞽女展望地 Goze Viewpoint, a monument and observation deck just west of the Heda Pass. There’s another called はだか坊 Hadaka Bou (Naked Priest) in the mountains near my home. There are surely many such monuments all over Japan, but living here in Izu has brought the whole concept much closer to my attention. I wonder if there are more here than in other places around Japan . . .
When people die in remote places, it seems to trigger a sense of compassionate responsibility among locals. There’s a Japanese term called 無縁仏 (muen-botoke), which means a ‘Buddha without connections’. Traditionally, there’s an uneasiness about leaving a death uncared for. As time goes by, the reason for these deaths are often forgotten, but people continue to take care of them. They seem to feel that someone thought it was important enough to take care of, so it must be important to continue.
As for there being more of these places in Izu than other places, that would be hard to measure. Still, thinking about the relationship between geography and people, I know that there are many mountain passes in Izu.
Mountain passes, village boundaries, and crossroads are thought of as transitional places. These often carry a sense of danger, so placing and caring for monuments can also be thought of as a way to provide care and protection for others. Properly memorializing a person turns an unsettled presence into a peaceful and sometimes protective one. That’s one of the reasons people continue to care for them and often pray at them. The Goze Viewpoint at Heda Pass memorializes traveling entertainers who died in a rare snowstorm. The site has become associated with improvement for performing artists, so some people will offer prayers to that end.
Being part of the local historical society where we go around and clean monuments like this throughout the year has made me feel responsible too. I know I’ll always been drawn to them, even the ones that nobody seems to know the stories behind.