This past Sunday was gorgeous! It has been raining a lot here, so Hannah and I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and visit her town's temple. She lives in Kokawa and I have been to the temple before, however it was during a festival and I couldn't see anything. I'm glad that I was able to view it in the daylight. It is massive and very beautiful. Pictured above is me standing in front of the gate to the temple area. It's really pretty and there are some really cool statues flanking both sides of the gate. It seemed like the temple was really busy too. There were many tourists going to pray there. It may have been a special day and we just didn't know about it.
This is such a funny yet memorable shot. Hannah and I were taking turns taking photos of each other. This elderly "Japanese" (shocking, I know) woman stopped and asked if she could take a photo of the both of us. This is the photo that she took. You can see a little of the building and a good close up of the handrail. The best part is that my camera has a huge viewing screen that you don't need to put your eye up to. She kept trying to do that and there is no way that she could have seen anything. It would have been like putting your face up against the TV. Hannah and I kept giggling b/c it took her a good 3 minutes to take this shot.
Here's a photo of one of the statues at the gate. I love the expression and how detailed he looks. He is awesome and very powerful looking. Look at the abs! I'm jealous. Click
here to see the full album; many buildings and scenery photos. Oh and some silly ones we tried to take of ourselves.
This past Sunday was gorgeous! It has been raining a lot here, so Hannah and I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and visit her town's temple. She lives in Kokawa and I have been to the temple before, however it was during a festival and I couldn't see anything. I'm glad that I was able to view it in the daylight. It is massive and very beautiful. Pictured above is me standing in front of the gate to the temple area. It's really pretty and there are some really cool statues flanking both sides of the gate. It seemed like the temple was really busy too. There were many tourists going to pray there. It may have been a special day and we just didn't know about it.
This is such a funny yet memorable shot. Hannah and I were taking turns taking photos of each other. This elderly "Japanese" (shocking, I know) woman stopped and asked if she could take a photo of the both of us. This is the photo that she took. You can see a little of the building and a good close up of the handrail. The best part is that my camera has a huge viewing screen that you don't need to put your eye up to. She kept trying to do that and there is no way that she could have seen anything. It would have been like putting your face up against the TV. Hannah and I kept giggling b/c it took her a good 3 minutes to take this shot.
Here's a photo of one of the statues at the gate. I love the expression and how detailed he looks. He is awesome and very powerful looking. Look at the abs! I'm jealous. Click here to see the full album; many buildings and scenery photos. Oh and some silly ones we tried to take of ourselves.
I like the pics Mercedes...
ReplyDeleteI like the turles sunning on the rocks. :o)
Did you notice the swastika on the bottom of the one statue? Just goes to show how that symbol was used as a religious symbol WAY before the Nazis ever got ahold of it. There're some swastikas in the tile work along the pool at the Plunge in Mission Beach too.. They were put there for good luck at the turn of the century.
See you tomorrow!
Hey Rich.... :o)
Actually Hannah noticed them before I did. We really don't know the meaning of the symbol. It has to have been there a really long time and have a completely different meaning. It was definitely there before the Nazis were an issue. I'll try to find out what it is exactly.
ReplyDeleteThe arms of the nazi swastika go in the opposite direction. The symbol you see is for a temple or shrine--I've forgotten which one. Somebody out there should know without having to look it up. Also the swastika is rotated 45 degrees.
ReplyDeleteOk, I couldn't stand it and I had to go look it up. The word comes from Indian sanskrit and the clockwise swastika is a symbol of good fortune, luck and well being. Used in buddhist temples.
ReplyDeleteHello, Mercedes! I enjoyed your pictures a lot.
ReplyDeleteYes, like your mother explained previously, what you saw at the temple is nothing to do with the Nazi. It's also called "Manji" in Japanese and for Japanses people, it means nothing but "temple".
I was reading a Japanese novel in NY subway once and I noticed many people looked at me really strange way. The book I was reading was "Manji" by Junichiro Tanizaki, and the symbol was on the book cover.
Also, when Japan hosted a winter olympics several years ago in Nagano, ABC broadcasted from Zenko-ji (Zenko Temple). On the background of the news anchor, there ware the Manji symbol peaking, and I heard ABC received a tons of negative calls after.
In Japan, swastika is not common word and I think nobody will understand it. Hakenkreuz (pronounce as "hah-ken-kuroitsu")is the common word to describe the "Nazi" 's symbol among the people.
Rich will land in Japan very soon! How nice!!!
Thanks for the information. I actually found out similar information today. I knew that it had to be relating to the temple because I've seen it before. Thanks Mom and Yuko for your input.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can't believe it. Rich will be here tomorrow. I will go get him at the airport after work. I am so excited. Hope I can sleep. I just got back from the onsen. We had a few beers too. Hopefully I'll go to sleep quickly. I also can't wait to see you too Yuko. I've got your visit marked on my calendar.
Hey Mercedes!
ReplyDeleteIt was great seeing you and the girls last night! I hope your Kansai Airport (KIX) adventure goes ok! Let me know about the details for next weekend!
Stu