Shot this bronze statue of Jikokuten at Hase-dera Temple, Kamakura, Japan. Jikokuten literally means “Guardian of the Nation”. Jikokuten is the Keeper of the Kingdom, the Upholder of the Country, the Protector of the World. Jikokuten usually carries a sword in right hand, with closed left hand resting on hip; sometimes shown holding a stringed...
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Hase-dera (known more formally as Kaikozan Jishoin Hase-dera) is one of the great Buddhist temples in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, famous for housing a massive wooden statue of Kannon. The temple is the fourth of the 33 stations of the Bando Sanjusankasho pilgrimage circuit dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten. The temple...
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Tags: architecture, Asia, Asian, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, building, East Asia, Eastern religion, Edo, faith, flow, fountain, grass, green, Hase-dera, Hase-dera Temple, Hasedera, history, holy, Honshu, Japan, Japanese, JP, JPN, Kaikozan Hase-dera Temple, Kamakura, ladle, landmark, leave, leaves, metal, old, purification, religion, sacred, spiritual, spring, stone, stream, temple, travel, tree, water, worship
Daibutsu is a Japanese word meaning literally “Large Buddha” that refers to large statues of the Buddha or one of his various incarnations. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha in the Kotoku-in Temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is believed that the statue was originally cast...
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Tags: Amida Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, architecture, art, Asia, Asian, bronze, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, building, daibutsu, East Asia, Eastern religion, Edo, faith, famous, Great Buddha, history, holy, Honshu, Honshu Island, icon, Japan, Japanese, Jodo shu, Jodo shu sect, Jodoshu, JP, JPN, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanto, Kanto Region, Kotoku-in, Kotokuin, landmark, monumental, old, outdoor, religion, sacred, spiritual, statue, temple, travel, worship
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 Posted in Tokyo
At all Shinto shrines and temples, worshippers and casual visitors are asked to purify themselves (Harai) of impurity before praying to the Shinto deities. The act of cleansing is called Misogi, and the actual washing of hands and mouth with water is called Temizu.
The protocol is thus: take one of the ladles provided, fill it...
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Tags: architecture, Asakusa, Asia, Asian, basin, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, building, East Asia, Eastern religion, Edo, faith, female, flow, fountain, gate, history, holy, Honshu, Hozo-mon, Hozomon, Japan, Japanese, JP, JPN, Kanto, ladle, ladles, landmark, Nakamise-dori, Nakamisedori, old, people, purification, region, religion, sacred, Senso-ji, Sensoji, spiritual, spring, stone, stream, temple, travel, tsukubai, wash, water, woman, worship
Monday, January 11, 2010 Posted in Tokyo
Senso-ji Temple (also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple) is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo. It is Tokyo’s oldest temple, and one of its most significant.
The legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they...
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Tags: architecture, Asakusa, Asia, Asian, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, building, dawn, dusk, East Asia, Eastern religion, Edo, evening, faith, Five-Storied Pagoda, Five-Story Pagoda, gate, history, holy, Honshu, horizontal, Hozo-mon, Hozomon, Japan, Japanese, JP, JPN, Kanto, landmark, lanterns, Nakamise-dori, Nakamisedori, night, old, paper, people, red, region, religion, sacred, Senso-ji, Sensoji, spiritual, temple, travel, vermilion, wood, worship
Thursday, November 12, 2009 Posted in Miyajima
Belfry at the Daisho-in Temple, Miyajima, Japan. The bell was rung to tell the time in the morning, afternoon and evening in the past. Now it is rung to start the time for worship.
Daisho-in Temple is an ancient one of the most important temples of Shingon Buddhism built at the foot of the sacred Mtount...
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Tags: architecture, Asia, Asian, belfry, bell, bronze, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, building, Daisho-in Temple, Daishoin Temple, East Asia, Eastern religion, Edo, faith, flow, fountain, golden, history, holy, Honshu, Japan, Japanese, JP, JPN, ladle, ladles, landmark, Mandala, Mani, metal, Miyajima, old, prayer, praying, purification, religion, sacred, sand, Sand Mandala, spiritual, spring, stone, stream, temple, travel, vertical, water, wheel, wheels, worship
Monday, November 9, 2009 Posted in Miyajima
Itsukushima Shrine (Japanese: Itsukushima Jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as “Miyajima”, which means “shrine-island” in Japanese) in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. This Shinto shrine is known worldwide for its “floating torii gate“.
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Tags: architecture, Asia, Asian, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, building, corridor, East Asia, Eastern religion, Edo, Ema, faith, history, holy, Honshu, horizontal, Itsukushima Shrine, Japan, Japanese, JP, JPN, landmark, lantern, Miyajima, old, paper, paper lantern, Prayer Tablets, red, religion, sacred, spiritual, temple, travel, vermilion, wood, worship, writing, writings
Friday, October 30, 2009 Posted in Miyajima
Built in 1523 by the priest Shukan, Tahoto is a pagoda with a height of 15.6 meters. Although constructed mainly in Japanese style, parts of the structure have Indian and Chinese architectural features. It presents the unique combination of a square shape on the lower level and a round shape on the upper level.
Tahoto Pagoda,...
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Tags: architecture, Asia, Asian, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, building, East Asia, Eastern religion, Edo, elevation faith, forest, green, height, high, history, holy, Honshu, Japan, Japanese, JP, JPN, landmark, leaves, Miyajima, old, pagoda, religion, sacred, Shukan, spiritual, Tahoto Pagoda, temple, tower, travel, tree, trees, vertical, wood, worship
