JZK? That sounds like an airport code, but it’s what I saw in several pamphlets referring to Jozankei, a hot spring resort area in Hokkaido near Sapporo, located within Shikotsu-Toya National Park.
According to popular accounts, Jozankei hot springs were discovered by Miizumi Jozan (1805-1877), a Buddhist monk.
Every time I come across this information, I am reminded of Christopher Columbus.
Columbus? Yes. As a little schoolgirl, I was taught that in 1492 he “discovered” America. It later occurred to me that the “discovery” bit is a little more nuanced because people were already living in the Americas before he arrived.
Jozan was born the second son of a monk of a famous temple in Bizen (present-day Okayama Prefecture) in the second year of Bunka, or 1805.
Standing at an impressive 180 centimeters tall for his time, he left home at 17 and headed to the Tohoku region to engage in missionary work.
At the late age of 48, he traveled to Ezo (Hokkaido), where the Ainu people introduced him to the hot springs that would later be named after him.
So, who really discovered the onsen? I would say that Jozan was the “founder” of what would grow into Jozankei hot spring resorts.
Word got around, and the sick and injured soothed themselves in the mineral waters of the bathhouse that he built.
After that, the Hokkaido Development Commissioner, who visited, was impressed, and Jozan was officially appointed as the “Yu-Mori” (supervisor of the hot waters) in 1871.
Several more baths opened in the area, and the Jozankei resorts expanded and flourished with the construction of roads, the growth of mining and lumber industries and railroads being laid.
The local tourist association organizes events throughout the year. This past summer, I visited Jozankei during Nature Luminarie 2024, a surreal projection mapping show held alongside a river on a forest path.
This winter, it will set up a “Yuki Touro” (snow lantern) installation where a thousand snow lanterns will glow on the grounds of Jozankei Shrine. A snow lantern, if you were wondering, is a lantern-shaped structure made of packed snow with a hole for a fire inside.
Jozan lived his life magnificently as a productive monk. He contributed to people’s well-being and served the community.
Many Buddhists believe in reincarnation. If he has returned to us, I wonder what he’s up to these days. Perhaps he’s transcended reincarnation and is watching over Jozankei and its visitors as you read this. A bow to you.
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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the Dec. 8, 2024, issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series “Lisa’s Things, Places and Events,” which depicts various parts of the country through the perspective of the author, a professor at Aoyama Gakuin University.
AloJapan.com