Bone Buddhas

When I first heard about Bone Buddhas, Okutsu Butsu, I imagined statues made out of whole bones, shins, ribs etc but that is not what they are. They are made out of crushed bones. The first is believed to be from the early 18th Century and was made by mixing crushed bones with clay, but the most famous ones are at Isshinji Temple in Osaka and are made by casting a mixture of crushed bone and resin.

Since the late 19th Century, when the temple began to run out of space to store the cremains , they have made a dozen statues of Amida, but six were destroyed during the war. The ashes of about 150,000 went into each one.

The head priest at Isshinji is also an architect, and he designed the very unusual main gate into the temple.

The temple is located near Tennoji Park, and not visited much by tourists, but the place is usually very busy.

3000 Buddhas at Isshinji

Isshiteji is quite a well known temple in the Tennoji area of Osaka that is known primarily for its statues made from  bones, but just across the road, and owned by the temple, is a very modern building that houses an experimental theater group and theater.

Part of the building seems to be what I would call a "chapel", and its name is Three Thousand Buddhas. When you go through the doors  you see a large dome built in the interior, and on the exterior of the dome are golden buddhist statues. Not yet three thousand though. When enough donations have been made they will number three thousand.

The interior of the dome very much resembles a church with seats and an altar, behind which is a giant mural.

From the outside of the building you get no indication of what is inside, in fact it looks like a bank or an office building.

Keitakuen Garden

In Tennoji Park, tucked  behind the Municipal Museum of Art is Keitakuen garden.

A modern garden, built for the wealthy Sumitomo Family who constructed a mansion nearby.

The garden, a stroll type built around a large pond, was designed by Jihei Ogawa who also designed the garden at Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto.

It is surprisingly good, though obviously it helps if the weather is good. and only 150 yen for the entrance.

Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle is one of the greatest of Japanese castles and while the central keep is famous for being a concrete reconstruction, the castle is huge and still has much of the original stonework and fortifications.

These photos are from my first visit to the castle area more than twenty years ago, and while I didn't go into the castle at this time as I was more interested in the modern architecture in the surrounding area, the stonework of Japanese castles fascinated me.

Construction of the castle began in 1583 by Hideyoshi and it was built on the site of a fortified temple complex that was burned to the ground at the end of an 11 year siege by Oda Nobunaga.

In 1614 the castle was the last stronghold of Hideyoshi's son against the Tokugawa and eventually fell.

In 1620, with plans to make Osaka the base for the new government the castle was dismantled and reconstructed into its current form, even grander and larger than the original.

The new keep was built in 1628 but was destroyed by lightning-caused fire in 1677 and was not rebuilt.

During the Meiji restoration and the later Boshin War various parts of the castle were damaged. In 1931 the keep was rebuilt in concrete.

During WWII Osaka Castle was an army base and major arsenal and suffered damage from bombing.

The keep was repaired and renovated in 1997.

A good spot to view the castle from above is the Osaka  Museum of History nearby.

Kansai International Airport (Outside)

The Aeroplaza is a hotel/shopping complex attached to Kansai Airport's terminal building

Connected to the terminal by a covered walkway. For those who like expensive hotels and shopping malls. Never been in it myself.

Between the terminal and the Aeroplaza is the train station for connections into Osaka. Rather fine skylight.

Waiting for the first train.

Kansai International Airport (check in)

The main terminal building at Kansai International Airport opened in 1994. Designed by Renzo Piano, its designed in the shape of a wing.

Built on a man-made island, at the staggering cost 0f 15 billion dollars, the terminal feels light and airy and spacious, and this is somewhat due to the design, but also due to the fact that it is not a very busy airport.

Landing fees are very high, and with the recent increase in fuel costs the number of flights continue to decrease. Though I don't travel often, I have spent a lot of time in airports, and KIX, is the most comfortable I've encountered yet.

Giant funnels blow air up to the roof, and the air then circulates naturally, driving giant mobiles.

I've spent several nights at KIX waiting for early morning flights, and it's been very comfortable. Everything closes down for the night except a new 24-hour Internet cafe, The Kankyu Lounge.