Miami University student spends summer walking 870 miles on pilgrimage to 108 Buddhist temples in Japan
The Presidential Fellow is collecting data and doing interviews about the significance of Osettai, a tradition of gift giving along the route
Miami University student spends summer walking 870 miles on pilgrimage to 108 Buddhist temples in Japan
The Presidential Fellow is collecting data and doing interviews about the significance of Osettai, a tradition of gift giving along the route
Miami University junior Caitlin Buzzard needed to buy a second pair of hiking shoes after reaching the halfway point of her summer adventure: an 870-mile pilgrimage to 88 main and 20 bonus temples around the circumference of the island of Shikoku, Japan.
Since starting the journey on May 24, she has been collecting observational data and doing interviews in Japanese as part of her Honors Senior Project studying cultural aspects of the 1,200-year-old pilgrimage. She expects to finish on Sunday, July 26.
The student from Carrboro, North Carolina is researching the cultural significance of Osettai, a centuries-old tradition of charitable giving and hospitality shown to pilgrims on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. Locals freely give passing travelers food, drinks, small gifts, money, and sometimes even lodging.
Buzzard, the recipient of a Presidential Fellows Scholarship in the Honors College, is a triple major in International Studies, Linguistics, and East Asian Languages and Cultures, with minors in Anthropology, Italian, and Music Performance.