JR KOTOHIRA STATION (KAGAWA PREFECTURE)

Shikoku's gateway to the gods

Photos by Yomiuri Shimbun Photographer Yasunari Itayama

By Yuko Iida

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

An elderly man appeared in the JR Dosan Line's Kotohira Station waiting room in Kotohiracho, Kagawa Prefecture, a little past 5:30 a.m., just as a station employee unlocked its doors. The day's first train was preparing to depart.

The man arranged some seasonal flowers, which appeared to have been cultivated at home, in a number of small vases. After arranging the flowers and leaving them by the ticket office window and ticket machines, the man went on his way.

Three days later, as the flowers were starting to wither, the man visited the station again, bringing fresh flowers with him. For how many years had the man done this?

About two years ago, station officials proposed sending him a letter of gratitude. But Hitoshi Sasaki, 57, the stationmaster at that time, was rather taken aback to hear what the man himself had to say about the idea: "I'll stop changing the flowers if the station is thinking of sending me a thank-you letter."

The man has refused to be interviewed by the media, and in the end, Sasaki was unable to ask him why he had refused to accept the thank-you letter from station staff. In a way, Sasaki felt he could empathize with the man.

"This station has something special about it," Sasaki said.

Sasaki attends Shinto rituals at Kotohira Shrine in ceremonial clothing, and is invited to graduation and entrance ceremonies at local primary and middle schools. The stationmaster is something of a celebrity in the town, akin to the mayor.

Before flying became as commonplace as it is today, worshippers from Honshu island traveled to Takamatsu or Marugame in the prefecture by ship and from there to Kotohiracho by train.

Sasaki, who was born and raised in Kotohiracho, used to be overwhelmed by the swarms of people who alighted at the station to pay their respects at the shrine, one of the most famous in the country.

After he joined Japanese National Railways, which after privatization became the current Japan Railway group of companies, the Kotohira Station stationmaster, who oversaw more than 40 employees, was like a god to him.

Sasaki became stationmaster five years before he was due to retire. His father was also a JNR employee, so Sasaki felt immense pressure to accept such a prestigious role in the town of his birth.

After two years as stationmaster, Sasaki was appointed as secretary general of the local chamber of commerce and industry in January.

As the number of shrine worshippers who make the journey by car increases, Shikoku Railway Co. has cut the station's staffing levels. Now there are just six employees, and only two of the ticket wickets are open.

But the station is still an important gateway to Konpirasan, an affectionate name for the shrine. Worshippers are warmly welcomed by locals, who gaze on the visitors affectionately, and by fresh flowers at the station.