Shuzenji -
A deadly Tub

Shuzenji, a popular spa town in the center of the Izu Peninsula, is more than hot baths and copious meals. Around the year 1200, just after the founding of the shogunate in nearby Kamakura, the town was the stage of a dark tragedy, that has also left its mark in a sinister legend. How many among the pleasure crowds will see the lonely graves on the hillside?

The low sun is already filling the narrow valley with long shadows when I come to Shuzenji. It has been a clear and dry winter day, but now the temperature makes me shiver. Steam from the hot springs rises up from the river that is lined by tall, modern hotels. The center of the town is formed by the Tokko no Yu, an outside bath that was created by the famous monk Kukai by throwing his monk's staff on the ground.

This was not an act of anger: Kukai had come across a boy washing his old father in the river, and thinking the water too cold for this, opened up a hot spring by throwing his staff on the ground. Immediately a hot stream gushed forth, that even proved to possess medicinal qualities. The spring still is there, among the rocks at the riverside, now fenced off by a simple wooden enclosure that is insufficient to hide the bathers. The open bath is a public one, and seems popular with elderly, male exhibitionists.

Luckily, at this hour there are no suitable onlookers anymore and the bath is deserted. Shuzenji lies in the center of Izu, the peninsula just under Tokyo that has been a popular resort area for the last century. The name Izu is said to stem from Yuizu, 'hot water coming out.' There are many spa's with hot springs, ranging from the most expensive to the rustic. The climate is generally warm and the rocky coast is beautiful. The proximity from Tokyo has brought the unavoidable vulgarity - to which Shuzenji as a spa town is no stranger - but surprisingly enough, when one turns away from the baths and the groups of revelers, Izu proves to possess several old temples and other historic spots, many connected with the famous Genji clan.

A temple among the tubs
One of these is Shuzenji Temple, standing opposite the Tokko no Yu bath, at the foot of a hill. According to tradition, Shuzenji Temple was founded in 807 during the Izu visit of the above-mentioned Kukai (one of Japan's most famous priests and scholars, and founder of the Shingon denomination). It is quiet in the grounds, where a few plum blossoms herald the advent of spring. The temple hall, though possessing an interestingly curved roof, is small and gives the impression of being much younger than the ninth century. The hall is closed, there are no statues on view, just to have something to do I pull the frayed cord to ring the copper bell dangling under the eaves.

The shrill rattle seems to wake the shadows, and stir the mist that rises up from the river. The shadows from the dark past rise up to reenact the drama that once took place in the now peaceful spa town. The leader of the Genji clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-99) had vanquished his enemies and contenders for power in the empire, the Heike clan, and victoriously set up his military government, the shogunate, in Kamakura. Yoritomo seems to have been a vicious and distrustful man, who especially doubted the loyalty of his own kin. He had his younger brother Yoshitsune killed (although this young hero had been instrumental in winning the victory over the Heike), and another brother Noriyori was banned to Izu where he committed suicide.

When Yoritomo suddenly died in 1199, he had so much weakened his own clan, that his wife's family, the Hojo, could easily take over real power in the empire. Yoritomo's young son, Yoriie, who at eighteen should have been the successor to the shogunate, was exiled to Shuzenji by his grandfather Tokimasa, the leader of the Hojo. An attempt to kill Tokimasa (ascribed to Yoriie) had backfired.

After spending a few years in exile, Yoriie - whose existence was probably deemed to dangerous for the Hojo - was murdered in his bath. That bath must have been the Toko no Yu, making it not at all an attractive place for a dip as far as we are concerned. I pay a quick visit to the small museum that is attached to the temple, before it closes down for the day. There are the usual scrolls and knickknacks, but the most interesting exhibit is a wooden mask purportedly carved on the request by the exiled Yoriie.

Yoriie's grave

A horrible mask
The mask is hideously grotesque, as Yoriie wanted to express how much he suffered in Shuzenji. He wanted to show this mask to his mother, Masako, in the hope to shock her into pleading for him with her father Tokimasa. Rather than a fantasy mask, it seems to be the death mask of Yoriie after he died a terrible death in the most famous bath tub of all Japan.

The museum closes. I walk through the mists hovering about the river and cross to the other side. There, behind a few houses, on the hillside opposite from Shuzenji Temple, stands the Shigetsuden Temple and next to it is the grave of Yoriie. He had to remain in Shuzenji, the poor fellow. The small hall was built by Masako as a prayer for the repose of her son's soul.

The grave looks desolate, a weathered stone behind a fence on the hillside. I hope Yoriie has found peace after all those centuries. Although a few houses are standing in the vicinity, there is nobody around and I deeply sense the loneliness. I do not fancy the dancing shadows cast by the old trees and the sudden shriek from a startled crow on the dark hillside. Instead, I concentrate on the temple hall, that is old - much older than the rebuilt Shuzenji. The doors are open, revealing the warm glow of a gilded Buddha sitting in the dusk.

The Amida Buddha of Shigetsuin

It is Amida, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, who receives the souls of the dead in his heaven. His face exudes infinite peace, and I take that peace and golden glow with me when I walk away through the mists and the shadows, back to the town, to the lights and our modern century, that can bear with some warmth as it is no less cruel than the days of Yoritomo and Yoriie.