Ukraine woman takes Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan, hopes family can join when peace returns

The Mainichi

6 hours ago

TAKAMATSU -- A Ukrainian woman working in Japan after leaving her war-torn homeland recounted her experience walking the Buddhist pilgrimage routes in Shikoku while reminiscing about her family back home, during a recent gathering here.
Olena Lobachova, 32, said that the front lines of the war against Russia are drawing closer to her hometown, as she spoke at an activity briefing session held June 14 by a local nonprofit organization promoting the appeal of the Shikoku Pilgrimage of 88 temples in the western Japan island.
Now a resident of Takamatsu, Lobachova originally hails from Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, located about 200 kilometers from the war front in Donetsk where Russia has invaded. She majored in the Japanese language at a university in Ukraine and acquired a teaching credential for the language. After graduating, she worked as an interpreter and in Japanese website production but dreamed of living in Japan someday.
Although she was finding it difficult to take the bold step of actually coming to Japan, the Russian war against Ukraine changed her mind. The horror of coming under missile attacks drove her into a corner mentally, and she asked herself time and again what she wanted to do if her life was to end there. It was then that she found a job with a Ukrainian company where she could work remotely from Japan.
She thought she could be of help to her home country from Japan, and her parents also encouraged her to quickly leave Ukraine, telling her that what counted to them was for her to live long and that it was not safe in Ukraine. She arrived in Japan in January 2023 and started living in Takamatsu that April.
Since coming to Japan, checking the news every morning on her smartphone has become a routine to make sure her family is safe. Dnipro has become a support hub for accepting Ukrainian evacuees. She often hears from her family and friends that air raid sirens are ringing every few hours, that they cannot go to sleep due to missiles and drones flying over their homes, and that they are attending funerals almost daily.
The briefing meeting in Takamatsu was organized by NPO Network for Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage and Hospitality, based in the Kagawa Prefecture capital. Speaking before the audience of some 100 people, Lobachova recalled her mixed feelings upon her arrival in Japan while leaving her family back home, saying, "I felt uneasy for not being able to spend the precious time together with them." She added, "It is so painful to think that my family and friends are in danger back in Ukraine."
Her encounter with the "henro" pilgrimage eased her misgivings. After learning that the Kagawa Prefectural Government's international division was hosting a trial tour for foreign residents in the prefecture to experience the pilgrimage, she took part in one of those events. Clad in a pilgrimage outfit, she visited local temples, read out Buddhist sutras and offered prayers. As she exchanged greetings with many pilgrims she came across along the way, she found herself gradually feeling at ease.
So far, she has taken part in the trial event a total of five times. She noted, "The henro pilgrimage helped me compose myself and gave me the time to heal by reflecting on myself, with peaceful feelings welling up inside." She continued, "I feel that I can connect deeply with others across national and cultural differences. Once peace returns (to Ukraine), I'd like to walk along henro paths together with my family and friends."
(Japanese original by Masahiko Sasaki, Takamatsu Bureau)