Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Japan Diaries #5: 善光寺

Back by popular demand - this is a re-post of the travel diary of our recent trip to Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nagano.

善光寺 is Kanji for Zenkō-ji , the 1,400 year old temple that is one of Nagano's claims to fame.

The temple grounds are vast:  they span - at my best guess - about 20 to 30 acres and feature hundreds of ancient wooden buildings.  Obviously, not everything dates back to the original structures that were laid down in the 7th century.  The buildings are massive fortress-like behemoths.  It's difficult to imagine how they were built.  There are shrines, statues, prayer boards and reflection areas galore.  It's simply impossible to describe so just enjoy the pictures and try to picture that this is one hundredth of the treasure.

Zenko-ji main hall

Prayer boards

Zenko-ji main hall

One of the six Rukujizo
Living quarters at Zenko-ji
Ancient cemetary

Prayer hall
The six Rokujizo


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