Saturday, October 10, 2015

Hagi Teramachi


y80613

Teramachi, literally "temple town", in Hagi is , not surprisingly, home to many Buddhist temples. I will post on some of these later.

h7339

It is also home to the old port, a few shrines, and several old buildings protected by Historic Preservation orders.

h7321

Few tourists visit the area, but their are sections that have an ambience of an earlier era.

h7319

Well worth a few hours stroll if you have the time when visiting Hagi

y80614

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Kyushu 108 Pilgrimage Temple 89 Kongochoin


k1109

Kongochoin is temple number 89 on the Shingon Kyushu Pilgrimage. It is not far from Temple 9, Myooin, just a little bit higher up Mount Wakasugi. Like Myooin it has a lot of Fudo Myo statues that I posted recently.

k1098

According to the legend Kobo Daishi visited the mountain in 806 on his return from China.

Apparently it was quite a large temple complex that at its peak had 108 monks residing here.

k1103

In 1347 the whole conplex was destroyed during a battle. The current. much smaller buildings date from 1942

k1107

The honzon (main enshrined deity) is a seated Dainichi Nyorai, Great Sun Buddha.

k1087

There is also a Kannon Hall and an Awashima Shrine.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Manhole Boats


k6263

Composed of thousands of islands, it is not surprising that boats feature on some of the local manhole designs. This first one is from Hirado, the island in Nagasaki that was the center for trade with the Europeans especially the Dutch.

xh90955

Kurahashi, a small island near Kure in Hiroshima, was where some of the early boats were built that transported diplomatic missions from the ancient court in Yamato to China and Korea.

k6367

Imari in Saga was where the local porcelain was exported, mostly to Europe.

q40270

Innoshima in the Inland Sea was a base for the pirates who controlled the shipping lanes and who eventually became part of the "navy" used by Hideyoshi in his failed invasion of Korea.

xh100082

Etajima, the island in Hiroshima Bay that is home to the Japanese Naval Academy is reached via a short ferry ride from Hiroshima Port.

Monday, September 28, 2015

More Fudo Myo at Kongochoin


k1090

Of all the Fudo statues at Kongochoin I think this pair were my favorites. I think its because of the traces of color and the fact that they were not made by professional sculptors.

k1091

Sometimes represented sitting, often found standing, occasionally he strikes and active and aggressive pose.

k1092

The man made waterfall for the practise of cold water austerities. Fudo Myo is almost always found at such locations.
k1093

Kongochoin was a little higher up Mount Wakasugi than Myo oin, and part of the Kyushu 108 temple pilgrimage as awell as the Sasaguri 88 temple pilgrimage.

k1094

Further up the mountain I was to visit a couple more temples. both of which had a Fudo presence.

Friday, September 25, 2015

The Grand Tour Colchester Firstsite


uk100351

Firstsite is a new and controversial arts center in Colchester designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Vinoly. Firstsite refers to the fact that it is built on one of the earliest roman settlements in England.

uk100349

The building is clad in a copper/aluminium alloy and is kept low so as not to intrude upon the skyline.


uk100336

The building is semicircular in shape and has no foundations so as to protect the archeological remains that may be buried underneath.

uk100362

The building has not verticals on the exterior and has come in for a lot of criticism. I like it because it offered me plenty of opportunities for the kind of photographic composition I like :)

uk100380

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Fudo Myo at Kongochoin


k1112

A little higher up Mount Wakasugi from Myo-oin is Kongochoin, temple 89 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage.

k1111

Like Myo-oin there are a lot of Fudo Myo statues here, many quite primitive and therfore in a way more expressive.

k1106

There was also a small man-made waterfall for ascetic use and this also had numerous Fudos around it.

k1097

I seem to be on a Fudo Myo binge right now but to a certain extent that is just because of the way I am slowly working through my backlog of photos....

k1095

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Shikoku Pilgrimage Temple 29 Tosa Kokubunji



Tosa Kokubunji, temple 29 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage has a large Niomon housing a fine pair of Nio. The gate dates back to 1655, though it was dismantled and repaired in 1987


Emperor Shomu ordered the construction of Kokubunji, state-proteting temples, in every province, and the 4 on Shikoku are all part of the pilgrimage. The Tosa Kokubunji was built by Gyoki in the middle of the eighth Century.


According to kegend Kobo Daishi performed a ceremony here. The temple burnt down many times, inluding by Chosokabe, but this was one of the temples he rebuilt when he became a Buddhist towards the end of his life.


There is quite a nice garden that includes poems inscribed in rocks, and a bell tower. The temple is now Shingon and the honzon is a thousand-armed Kannon.



Friday, September 18, 2015

The Views From Mount Wakasugi


k1029

Mount Wakasugi rises to 681 meters in height to the east of Fukuoka. Climbing from the north side views over Sasaguri become visible at various breaks in the trees.

k1076

A little higher and the town of Hisayama comes into view.

k1079

Higher still and the bay and Shikanoshima can be seen.

k1122

Close to the top and the urban sprawl of southern Fukuoka City lies spread out.

k1145

From the top you can see all the way to the Fukuoka Tower and Fukuoka Dome with the mountains north of Itoshima behind.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Fudo Myo of Shikoku Part 9


h6878

Continuing with Fudo Myos I encountered on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, this votive plaque (ema) was at temple 52, Taisanji, overlooking the port that serves Matsuyama in Ehime.

h6924

Not to far away at temple 53, Enmyoji, was this fairly modern version

h7065

Temple 56, near Imabari, was also called Taisanji, and that is where I find these two....

h7067

A little further inland, temple 57, Eifukuji, is where this final photo was taken

h7119

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Monjuin Statues


k1072

Monjuin is a small temple located right next to Myo-oin on Wakasugi Mountain in Fukuoka. At first I thought it was ust part of Myo-oin. What little I have been able to find out about it is a little confusing, but it is probably a fairly new temple.

k1071

It is a Shingon temple, and part of the 24 temple Jizo Pilgrimage of Kyushu, which is who I think the first statue is. There was a shrine to Benzaiten as well.

k1064

The figure on the right is certainly Kannon, and the middle one Jizo

k1065

Not sure who the three-headed figure is,... there are three headed Buddhas, three headed Kannons, as well as various other deities/boddhistavas, etc

k1068

There were statues of the 7 lucky gods, and also another statue of Daikoku.....