Daizenji -
The Grape of Life

In the middle of Japan's wine country, among the vineyards of Yamanashi prefecture, stands an ancient temple hall dedicated to the Healing Buddha. Instead of the usual medicine jar, the Buddha carries a grape in his hand. The priest I meet here claims that it actually was the temple that started the cult of the grape.

The Chuo line that leaves Tokyo via Takao and then proceeds to Kofu and Matsumoto, cuts through the central mountains of Japan. Most of the time it winds its way through gorges and along steep cliffs, while dramatic vistas unfold. When the train reaches Katsunuma in Yamanashi prefecture, the gorge suddenly opens into a wide valley, where the slopes are densely covered with vineyards.

Katsunuma is Japan's oldest and most famous wine producing region. Besides the big brands of Manns (Kikkoman), Suntory and Mercian, there are numerous smaller wineries, that call themselves "chateau," even without a castle in sight. Although Japan will never become a wine-exporting nation, the taste of some of the wines produced here is quite good, thanks to careful crossbreeding with imported varieties of grape.

I have not come for the wine, but for Daizenji, a small temple possessing a Yakushi Hall dating from 1286, that sits on a hillside amid the vineyards. The vines stand bare on the brown earth in the still February weather. "Katsunuma looks lonely in this season," remarks the taxi driver, who drives me in five minutes to the temple. "You should see it in May, when the whole mountain is fresh green, or in autumn when the reds and yellows of the leaves create a gorgeous carpet."

The Yakushi Hall
After buying a ticket at the temple office, I walk up a stone staircase, pass through an old gate, and then stand in front of the square Yakushi Hall. Five-bays wide, its dark brown walls supporting a shingled roof with slightly upturned corners, it forms a perfect harmony between strength and elegance. The temple's founding predates the hall by three centuries, but from that period only three statues, the Yakushi triad in the zushi, the closed altar cabinet, remain, and those are usually not on view.

The altar cabinet itself, dating from 1473, is a national treasure, and is beautifully decorated with woodcarvings. On the flanks of the altar other statues from the Kamakura period such as Nikko and Gekko, the Boddhisattvas of the Sun and Moon, have been placed.

I receive a detailed explanation about the temple's history from a friendly and loquacious priest in the hall, while I kneel in the shadows before the altar. He apologizes for the fact that I can not view the main image, the Yakushi. "A hidden Buddha, it is only shown once every five years, and then only for a few days. But there is a picture of the statue on the altar."

The large color picture in front of the zushi is so realistic, that in the dark hall I first took it for the real image. The Yakushi has a strong and individualized face, as is the case with other statues from early Heian. The priest then speaks about something new to me: the strong link between the temple and the grapevines surrounding it, through the person of the Yakushi. The Yakushi is the Buddha of Healing, both mentally and physically, and is often depicted carrying a small medicine jar in his left hand. In the past, temples in Japan fulfilled the same function as Europe's monasteries: that of hospitals, infirmaries and apothecaries. They often possessed gardens where medicinal herbs were grown.

The wineyards in winter

The Healing Grape
And one of those herbs," explains the priest, "was the grape." The grape, of course, is loaded with symbolism also in the West. In Christianity, grape wine symbolizes the blood of Christ. Wine is the elixir of life. Behind this may also have been a belief in the healing properties of the grape itself. "In Central Asia and China," continues the priest, "there are statues of the Yakushi carrying a grape instead of the medicine jar. The grape was a medicine, and people also believed that it served to ward off evil. Of course, the grape was not indigenous to Japan, but it was brought here with Buddhism from the Asian mainland."

The Healing Buddha has brought the grape to Katsunuma. In Daizenji and other temples, this medicinal plant from Central Asia was grown in the herb garden. Without the temples, there would have been no grapevines. Is it therefore thanks to Daizenji that Yamanashi is famous for its wine?

"That is a bit exaggerated," smiles the modest priest. "Moreover, the old vines were quite a different type from today's Muscat grapes, that have been crossbred with varieties from overseas." Nevertheless, it is a nice thought that this tranquil temple is responsible for one of the pillars of Yamanashi Prefecture's modern economy and tourism. It is an aspect that is apparently forgotten - I have not found it mentioned in any guidebook.

I walk around the hall, and inspect the statues on the altar from close range. Looking at the woodcarvings of the altar cabinet, I discover something that strengthens the priest's theory about the link between the Yakushi Buddha and the grapevines: along the top of the sides of the cabinet elaborate vines have been carved.

Back at the station, I buy a bottle of Katsunuma wine in a small shop that sits in the hall. At home, that evening, I will toast to the Buddha of Healing.