Japanese Gardens at Osaka Expo Park

Osaka Expo Park

The Japanese Garden in Expo Park, Osaka, is just over fifty years old, but is huge, measuring about 64 acres in total.

In fact it should really be considered as several gardens as it was buult for the World Expo70 and its purpose was to introduce foreign visitors to the history of garden design in Japan for the past 1000 years and more.

It is divided into four areas, the Ancient Garden, Medieval garden, Early Modern Garden, and the Modern Garden.

The Ancient Garden reflects the style of Heian Period gardens such as the ones at Byodo-in in Uji or Shinsen-en in Kyoto. Heavily Chinese in style.

The Medieval garden showcases gardens of the 12th to 16th centuries. This was the time of Zen influenced garden design, especially karesansui, the dry gardens of raked sand. It was also the time of the tea ceremony and the gardens here are home to several tea houses, though some are only open during the peak autumn leaves season.

The Early Modern garden focuses on the great daimyo gardens of the Edo Period. This was the time of the great strolling gardens, usually around a largish pond The largest pond at Osaka Expo is called Shinji Ike.

There is a large, covered rest area with great views of\ve the central part of the garden.

Any time of the year is good to visit, though obviously you can check and see what is flowering when. All these photos were taken in mid-Aptil.

Shinnozan Kyozenji Temple 4 Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

 

It was late on my first day walking the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage when I visited Kyozenji Temple. Like the three previous temples of the day it was in the middle of Osaka so heavily urbanized.

It's in an area called Kuwazu in Higashi Sumiyoshi. The temple has no website, there was no information board at the temple, and unlike most of the other pilgrimages Ive walked  I did not buy the small guidebook for this one, so I can find absolutely no information on the temples history.

It was right next door to Kuwazu Tenmangu shrine, and there was a smal park between them, so I would guess they were closely related in the past.

As well as being on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage it is all on the Settsu 88 pilgrimage, Settsu being the bame of the former province.

None of the buildings were old, and it looked like even the Nio guardians were fairly new. That was it for this first day and I headed back to my hotel near Shitennoji.

Some Art at Horakuji Temple

 

Buddhist temples in Japan, like temples, shrines, and churches all over the world, are often repositories of a lot of art. Some temples have a little in the grounds, ornamenting the architecture, and inside on the aktars, etc. Some however are rich in artworks amd can be like visiting a museum or gallery.

It can be quite bewildering trying to know exactly what you are looking at. The massive array of deities, buddhas,  and other characters on display can be obscure. I myself spent my first decade in japan primarily visiting shrines, and have a pretty good grasp of kami and such, but it was not until I started walking the pilgrimages that I started to take note of Buddhist related figures, and while some I am pretty sure of being able to identify, I am by no means an expert.

This third phot I am pretty sure is Shoki, a Daoist demon-quelling figure. A lot of Daoism was imported into Japan through Buddhism, though there was probably some before that. Much of what is called shinto has roots in daoism though it is often referred to as "Chinese folklore". Shoki is well known to people in Iwami because he is the main character of a popular kagura performnce.

This photo of a young priest may be Kobo Daishi as a young man. Horakuji is a Shingon temple and their website says they have a modern statues of him. It may be Jiun, a famous 18th century monk who began his studies as an acolyte here when he was 13 and went on to become famous as both a sanskrit scholar and as a religious leader who emphasized a return to an earlier, less "degenerated" form of Buddhism.

This last one is obviously an onigawara, a demon rooftile to ward off evil. Quite a similarity to the "demon queller".

The Great Camphor Tree at Horakuji Temple

 

In the grounds of Horakuji Temple is a huge, ancient kusunoki tree. Estimated to be about 800 years old, it is officially the second oldest tree in Osaka, one in Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine being older.

Its dimensions are impressive. 26 meters tall and a similar size for the spread. The circumference of the trunk is 8 meters. It is said the tree can be seen from 8 kilometer away.

On one side at its base is a small Inari shrine with a few small vermillion torii leading to it. On the trunk, above a shimenawa is a Tengu mask.

Also at its base is an altar to Fudo Myo, 

Horakuji Temple 3 on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

 

The Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage consists of 36 temples, but begins in Osaka with a clutsre of half a dozen close together, so I was visiting temple number three by lunchtime of my first day walking it. It is located in Tanabe, south central Osaka.

In the Edo period it became known commonly as Yakuyoke Tanabe Fudoson, yakuyoke being the "unlucky" years that the temple offered protection against. The hinzon is a Fudo, and the large flaming sword is like a sign making the temple easy to find in the highky built-up area.

The temple was founded by the son of the famous Taira no Kiyomori, Taira no Shgemori in 1178. The Kumano Kodo passes nearby and it is said that he established the temple here after completing the Kumano pilgrimage. The temple was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga, but rebuilt shortly afterwards.

The 3 storeyed pagoda is new, being built in 1996 and supposedly houses Buddha relics brought from China.The temple is home to an ancient silk painting of Fudo Myo, and is also where the famous monk and sanskrit scholar Jyuin studied.

Kiyomizu Temple number 2 on the Kinki Fudo Myo-o Pilgrimage

Kiyomizu

Located a little to the west of Shitennoji Temple in an ancient part of Osaka with many interesting shrines and temples, it is the second of the 36 temples on the Kinki Fudo Myo pilgrimage.

Its full name is Arisusan Seikoin Kiyomizudera and is now a Tenda sect temple. It is not known when it was founded, though I suspect it was a long time ago. Kiyomizu means "pure water" and there are a lot of temples with that name, not just the famous one in Kyoto.

Its honzon is a Kannon statue and the temple is one of the Osaka Kannon Pilgrimage temple, but I did not visit any of the buildings, instead went straight to what is called the only natural waterfall in Osaka City.

It may well have been "natural" at some point in the past, but has been much "improved" as the Japanese would say. It is made for purification by water rituals, and Fudo is almost always present at such sites.

 

Aizendo Shomanin Temple

This rather colorful Fudo Myo is at Aizendo Shomanin Temple near Shitennoji in Osaka. I had left Shitennoji, the first temple on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage, and was heading to a couple of others nearby. This area has quite a few old temples including Aizendo which dates back to the late 6th Century and is credited to Shotoku Taishi, who is also credited with founding nearby Shitennoji.

Seemingly unknown to tourists, Aizendo is very popular with locals and as well as the Fudo has shrines and statues to several different Kannon, several different Jizo, Inari, the 7 lucky Gods, and several other deities all specializing in genze riyaku, usually translated as "this-worldly benefits", or possibly "divine favors". Such things as wealth, health, success, safe-birth, finding a spouse, etc etc.

The main deity is Aizen Myo, housed in the main hall which dates back to the early 17th Century when it was rebuilt by Hidetada, the second Tokugawa Shogun, after the temple had been destroyed by Oda Nobunaga.  Like other Wisdom Kings, Aizen was originally a Hindu deity and he usually appears with a lion in his hair and having multiple arms. Associated with turning lust into enlightenment, he is often seen as a god of love in Japan.

The pagoda is said to be the oldest wooden building in all of Osaka. It was rebuilt by Hideyoshi in 1597. The interior walls of the pagoda have some fine murals. All in all a fascinating temple in a fascinating area for any who want to avoid tourists but get to see some ancient history.

Gokuraku Jodo Garden at Shitennoji Temple

Hidden away in a corner of Shitennoji Temple in Osaka is a rather unusual garden. Called Gokuraku Jodo Garden, its is based on a description of what is known in English as the Western Paradise of Amida Nyorai, often called the Pure Land.

There are two largish ponds and a meandering stream that connects them. There is also a "dry" garden based on Fudaraku, the "paradise" of Kannon Bosatsu.

The garden was built in the 17th Century. There are two tea-houses in the garden as well as an octagonal pavilion. I visited in December and there was a little bit of Autumn color. There are a lot of cherry trees so would be good to visit in April.

The entrance to the garden, which needs an entry fee, is in the NW of the temple grounds. Very close to Shitennoji is another seldom visited garden, Keitakuen.

Shitennoji Temple Osaka

Shitennoji Temple Osaka

Shintennoji Temple is one of the oldest temples in Japan, having been established in 593, and is located in Osaka, a place not too many associates with ancient Japan, but which was the capital for a while.

According to the legend, it was Shotoku Taishi who established the temple, although there is a lot of scholarship that suggests much of the myth and lore of Shotoku Taishi was made up long after his death. What is clear, however, is that it was builders from the Korean Peninsula that constructed the temple and that it was descendants of Korean immigrants that were settled in the area of what is now Osaka.

Though rebuilt many, many times over the centuries, the original design is somewhat adhered to. It is a large complex with many buildings and also gardens. Shitenno are the 4 Heavenly Kings who guard the Buddhist world.

I was here for the first time as Shinteenoji is the first temple on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

Tsutenkaku Tower

Tsutenkaku Tower is an iconic landmark in the Tennoji area of Osaka. The original tower was built in 1912 and was modelled on the Arc de Triumphe at the base and the Eiffel Tower at the top. It was 64 meters high.

It was damaged and dismantled in 1943, but following public demand a new tower was built in 1956. This newere tower is 40 meters taller and was designed by the same person that designed the Tokyo Tower.

The queue to go up the tower to the observation deck was too long when I visited. The area around the tower is a very popular entertainment district with cheap food.

It's particularly colorful at night.