Sunday, January 24, 2016

Manhole Rice


ichiki6351

The most common motif by far  used in the designs on manhole covers in japan is the cherry blossom. Considering the central place occupied by rice in Japanese identity it is surprising that it does not appear more often than it does. This first one is from Mizuho up in the mountains near where Iwami meet Hiroshima.

sh2740

I found this second one in the village of Koshita south of Usa in northern Kyushu.

k7391

Also in northern Kyushu, but on the opposite side in Fukuoka, this one is from Itoshima, one of the very ancient centers of early Japanese intereactions with Asia.

t60135

The final one is from near Kurayoshi in Tottori and it shows a farm woman using a senbakoki, a threshing machine with a steel "comb" that separates the the easr and grains from the stalks. Prior to its invention in the 17th Century a tool made from a piece of split bamboo, a kokibashi, was used.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Kibune-gu Shrine, Iizuka


k1285

Pronounced Kifune but written Kibune, this small local shrine in the outskirts of Iizuka is a branch of the famous Kifune shrine north of Kyoto.

k1283

The nameplate on the fairly new torii names it as Kibune-gu, and this is the first time I have seen gu used for a Kibune shrine. Gu is often applied to Hachiman and Tenjin shrines, Hachimangu and Tenmangu, and shrine terminology has become somewhat confusing since the establishment of Shinto in the mid 19th Century. Commonly when I am asking locals about a shrine they will use the term Omiya.

k1284

Kifune shrines enshrine two water kami, Takaokami and Kuraokami, associated strongly with rainfall. It was donating horses to the shrine in the case of drought or flood that traditiona has it led to Ema, votive plaques.

k1287

There were numerous small secondary shrines in the grounds, some no doubt local Aragami, but there was no information signboard so I cannot be specific.

k1292

Sunday, January 17, 2016

TKP Garden City, Hiroshima


hiro2612

TKP Garden City is another of the high rises built along Heiwa Dori, the road leading to the Peace Park in Hiroshima.

hiro2617

Its listed as a conference center with spaces for meetings and events.

hiro2614

I haven't been able to find out who the architect is, and there is nothing extraordinary about the building.

hiro2610

I like it because it allows me to take one of the kinds of photographs that I like :)

hiro2616

Friday, January 15, 2016

Shohoji Frogs


k1259

There were a lot of frogs at Shohoji, temple 93 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage. The word for "frog", kaeru, is the word for "return", and so there is an association between frogs and returning safely.

k1257

The first photo is a very stylized statue of a frog covered in prayer requests. I would have thought the prayers would have concentrated on safe returns but in fact the full gamut of requests is represented:- passing exams, finding a girlfriend etc etc. This second photo is of Daikoku in the form of a frog.

k1258

Shohoji is known as "Child Frog Temple", with temple number 3, Nyorinji, being the "Parent Frog Temple". I will be getting to that temple much later in the pilgrimage. The priest at Shohoji is the son of the priest at Nyorinji.

k1277

The honzon of the temple is Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha. In a secondary hall was I think an Amida statue and hundreds of childrens toy frogs including none other than Kermit.

k1279

Monday, January 11, 2016

Zenkakuji Temple 30 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage



Located north of Kochi City, Zenrakuji was not temple number 30 for almost 100 years. It was/is located right next to a big shrine, now called Tosa Jinja, and when Shinto and Buddhism were seperated the temple was damaged. The honzon, Amida Nyorai, was moved to Anrakuji which then became temple 30.


In 1929 Zenrakuji was re-established but no buildings were erected until 1938, however Anrakuji refused to return the honzon. Later Zenrakuji changed to the same sect as Anrakuji with the same priest presiding over both, but Anrakuji stayed as temple 30. At some point in the 1970's the honzon moved back to Zenrakuji and it once again became temple 30.


The original temple  is credited to Kobo Daishi but it was built under orders of Emperor Shomu and re-established by Kobo Daishi.


The current temple is made of concrete and is architecturally not interesting. Neighboring Tosa Shrine however does have a lot of nice, traditional architecture.



Saturday, January 9, 2016

Kyushu 108 Pilgrimage Temple 93 Shohoji


k1266

I began the third day of my walk around Kyushu visiting Nanzoin in Sasaguri, though this was not one of the 108 pilgrimage temples on my route.

k1269

After Nanzoin the road dropped down out of the mountains into the Iizuka valley and by lunchtime I reached Shohoji, one of the twenty "extra" temples added on to the main 88. Like all temples on this particular pilgrimage it belonged to the Shingon sect.

k1270

The young priest welcomed me and made me a cup of tea, something that would happen quite often on this walk. Its not a very popular pilgrimage even among Japanese, and I was truly made to feel a guest by many temples.

k1275

He told me that his father was the priest of a temple not too far from here that I would be visiting in the later stages of the pilgrimage. He also told me his father had walked the whole pilgrimage .

k1274

The honzon of the temple was a seated Yakushi Nyorai, and there was a pair of stone nio, in the now prevalent, standard, national, style, a small Fudo, and several Jizo. What there was a lot of was frogs......

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

The Grand Tour: London Aquatics Centre


uk100407

After Colchester we stopped in at the Olympic Park in London.

uk100421

The distinctive Aquatics centre was designed by Zaha Hadid, who is well known here in Japan for having designed the new olympic stadium but then having the design rejected.

uk100459

There are some design similarities between the two projects, and I have no idea what the general opinion is but I quite like it. I also liked her Tokyo proposal.

uk100436

In general I like architecture that utilizes curves. I would have liked to go inside but we were short of time.

uk100419

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Nanzoin Temple part 3


k1209

The final post on some of the multitude of statues at Nanzoin temple in Sasaguri, Fukuoka. here is a nice tableau of the shichifukujin, the seven Lucky Gods.

k1213

In every nook and cranny there are tiny Jizo statues....

k1223

These seem to be a Buddhist Jizo version of the 7 lucky gods.....

k1248

yet more Jizo.......

k1249

Sakimori were various forms of frontier guardians, and this curious statue is a memorial to police, sdf, coast guard and firefighters....

Friday, January 1, 2016

Monday, December 21, 2015

Fudo Myoo of Shikoku part 10


h7135

Continuing with statues of Fudo Myoo encountered while I walked the Shikoku Pilgrimage, this first one is at temple 58, Senyuji, just outside Imabari. It is a miniature Fudo, but nicely detailed.

h7354

On the way down from temple 60, the mountain temple, Yokomineji, I stopped in at Shirataki Okunoin, not part of the pilgrimage, and here I found a waterfall looked over by Fudo and two of his young boy servants usually known as Kimkara and Cetaka.

h7357

This small Fudo was in the grounds of Temple 64, Maegamiji, in Saijo City.

h7531

As was this last one.....

h7533

Friday, December 18, 2015

Nanzoin Temple part 2


k1167

There is a lot to see at Nanzoin Temple. A friend once described it, critically, as like a Buddhist "theme park", but I think back in the Edo period pilgrimage temples were a lot like that with many "attractions" to draw pilgrims. In the grounds  stands a massive, ancient tree that had been hit by lightning, though still living. Carved into it is a relief of Raijin, the God of Thunder and Lightning.

k1170

Nanzoin is a pilgrimage temple, being the first of the Sasaguri Pilgrimage. There is also a complete set of the 500 Rakan, or Arhats, the disciples of the Buddha, each with a different face and pose.

k1181

Not sure who this is. Obviously dressed as a monk, it might very well be Kobo Daishi. the founder of Shingon, the sect to which Nanzoin belongs.

k1201

This modern carving of a married couple is a Sainokami, also known as Dosojin. In earlier times they were often a single phallic stone, or a a pair of stones and were placed at village boundaries and crossroads for protection.

k1203

Probably a Jizo as he often is holding a staff and with children around him, but he seems to have a medicine jar in his left hand which is what Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha, would be holding