matiasStella

yakushi-ji

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:48:27 +0000

though there are many buildings on the yakushi-ji (薬師寺) grounds, only the east pagoda, to-to (東塔), has survived wars and fires since the 8th century. formerly an imperial temple, yakushi-ji still serves as a site of buddhist worship. like gango-ji and other temples located in asuka, yakushi-ji was moved from there to nara when it [...] Related posts:

kozan-ji

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:27:30 +0000

though it is unclear if kozan-ji (高山寺) was built around 774 as legend tells, we do know that this temple was built during the nara period, which lasted from 710 until 794. it was in 794 that the capital of japan moved to kyoto. there are many national treasures and important cultural properties in konzan-ji. [...] Related posts:

gango-ji temple

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:18:01 +0000

formerly known as hoko-ji temple, gango-ji temple (元興寺) was the first buddhist temple in asuka. it quickly became the source of japanese buddhism and a center for many of the cultures from china to be introduced into japan. at the time, these unique cultural characteristics were known as asuka culture, and were subsequently propagated throughout [...] Related posts:

niutsuhime-shrine, niukanshoufu-shrine, and jison-in temple

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 04:39:29 +0000

koya-san is considered the home of the gods and was founded by kukai (空海). in this area there are many shrines, including niutsuhime shrine (丹生都比売神社) and niukanshoufu shrine (丹生官省符神社). the character “ni” (丹) in both of these shrines’ names means vermillion. in ancient japan, vermillion was believed to have supernatural powers against evil. that is [...] Related posts:

yoshino and omine

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:35:03 +0000

yoshino and omine (吉野・大峯) are situated in the mountains of nara prefecture. in recent history, mt. yoshino (吉野山) has become a popular tourist site for its thousands of cherry blossom trees planted throughout the mountain side. situated at different altitudes, the four groves illuminate the mountain for over a month with their pink flowers when [...] Related posts:

granny bikes

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:31:27 +0000

they are called mama-chari (ママチャリ), the standard issued bicycles of japan. these russian and chinese socialist throwback bikes are easy to spot. a grocery basket up front and a child bucket seat in the rear, occasionally removed to allow for your high school girlfriend to ride along. mama-chari basically stands for granny bike. in america you [...] Related posts:

osaka in motion

ginkaku-ji

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:21:17 +0000

ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺) is a zen temple is kyoto, which happens to not be as popular as its related temple kinkaku-ji (金閣寺). ginkaku-ji was established in 1482 by ashikaga yoshimasa (足利義政), the grandchild of ashikaga yoshimitsu (足利義満) who had kinkaku-ji built. the nuance in the name of the two zen temples is that “gin” stands for [...] Related posts:

kamigamo shrine

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:13:39 +0000

kamigamo shrine (上賀茂神社), formally known as kamowakeikazuchi shrine (賀茂別雷神社), was built in 678 in northern kyoto. during its heiday the shrine was frequented by the royal family, as the shrine was dedicated to the preservation and pacification of japan. the two conical mounds of sand that you see above are platforms built for the gods [...] Related posts:

kamomioya shrine

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:04:53 +0000

the park called tadasu-no-mori (糺の森) surrounds kamomioya shrine (賀茂御祖神社), also commonly called shimogamo shrine (下鴨神社), in northern kyoto. kamomioya jinja is actually one half of the much larger complex called kamo shrine (賀茂神社). this is the lower shrine along the kamo river (鴨川), while the upper shrine is kamigamo jinja (上賀茂神社). both shrines together serve [...] Related posts:

gokayama

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:32:58 +0000

there are two small villages in gokayama (五箇山) named ainokura (相倉) and suganuma (菅沼). both villages are UNESCO world heritage sites for the same reasons as shirakawa-go (白川郷), the houses’ unique architecture called gassho zukuri. there are 20 such houses in ainokura and only nine in the tiny village of suganuma, the oldest of which [...] Related posts: