I often see photos of Japanese temples and shrines, with people posing in front of them. I a not sure what purpose that serves. Maybe they jump from one place to another so fast, that they want to make sure they have visited the place already, in case they get confused. For me, the most important thing is what I can see, and also to sense the atmosphere of the place. And this is what I wish to keep in my memory. When you focus on hunting for spots to take photos of yourself in a given area, it is highly likely that you will miss the most intriguing factor, the salt and pepper - the details. In case of Japanese temples and shrines, those details are often more beautiful and more captivating than the whole scene. Photo - Ueno Toshogu shrine's roof.
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It is important not to confuse the Ueno Toshogu shrine (上野東照宮) with the Unesco World heritage site, the Tosogu shrine complex of Nikko (日光東照宮), in which to the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined as Tosho Daigongen (東照大権現). In fact, the Toshogu shrines can be found all over Japan. Although the Toshogu shrine in Ueno is much smaller than that in Nikko, it is one of the most famous Toshogu shrines in Japan.
Ueno Toshogu shrine was built in 1616, and originally it was part of the massive Kan-ei ji (i.e. Kan-ei shrine, 寛永寺), which, sadly, was destroyed during the civil conflict known as the "War of the Year of the Yang Earth Dragon" (Boshin Sensō, 戊辰戦争, 1868 - 1869). Kan-ei ji was one of the most prominent and largest temples in Japan. Today, the grounds of the temple are covered by the Ueno park. The end of December 2013 marked the completion of renovation works of this shrine, and so it can be admired in its full glory. Ueno Toshogu shrine is located inside the Ueno park (上野公園), very close to the Tokyo National Museum, the remaining buildings of the Kan-ei shrine (寛永寺), and a beautiful Buddhist cemetery. Ueno park also hosts a zoo and a botanical garden. Near the Ueno station area there is also the famous Ame Yoko street (アメ横), and the underground Asian market. Here is one of many shots that I took at that shrine. It is a photo of a temple guardian dog. I love this photo to bits. I bet the photographer who was paid ridiculous amount of money to shoot this wedding will not be a happy panda when he sees this. I love that cheeky smile of her, and the fact that her parents are in a completely different zone. She is just enjoying herself. So how how did I do this, you ask? Oh, it is simple. I am over 190cm tall, and easily the size of two Japanese photographers combined, whichever direction you would not expand them, or even three of them if they work too much, and their bodies turned into dried prunes. Being different has its advantages, even in Japan, or perhaps especially here.
Wata boshi (綿帽子) lit. means "silk hat". What you see on the below photo is only one type of the traditional Japanese headwear worn by the brides during a ceremony in a Shinto shrine. The girl is also wearing a hand made white kimono called shiro muku (白無垢), which means "white purity". The wata boshi white silk hood symbolises obedience to the husband. I took this at Meiji Jingu Shinto (明治神宮) shrine in central Tokyo.
If you go to a traditional Japanese wedding, then stand on a side and close your eyes and only listen to the surroundings, you will not know whether this is a wedding or a funeral procession. It is slow, traditional music sounds are a rather dramatic, and everyone is dead serious. However, the stunning parade of women and men dressed in traditional kimono, and the wedding ceremony itself are well worth witnessing. It is really beautiful. Wedding party, on the other hand, is something that you can skip, as it is being animated to the last detail by 1456 wedding animators, extremely stiff, need to fill an application with a pastport photo every time you want leave the table and go to pee, cant really talk to anyone as you are given a seat and have to stay there for the whole thing, and get kicked out after 3 or so hours. Not my idea of whoopie. Photo was shot in Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo, where weddings such as this one can cost around 100,000 $ (yup, thats hundred thousand).
Senso-ji Srine (浅草寺) in Azakusa, in central Tokyo is one of the most visited places by the tourists. The main attraction there is not this beautiful Shinto shrie itself, but the Nakamise-dori, or in other words, the street with small shops selling all kinds of Japanese omiyage (お土産, i.e. souvenirs), from little plush toys to fake Japanese katana swords. You do not see much of Nakamise-dori on this photo, as I think that the most intriguing and beautiful thing in there cannot be bought, but can only be admired. One of those things is the pictured Hozomon (宝蔵門) - the Treasure House Gate leading to the inner complex of the shrine.
When visiting a Japanese shrine or a temple, one can be easily overwhelmed by the lavishness of decorations, and insane attention to architectural details. Admiring Japanese traditional architecture could be compared to admiring Japanese calligraphy. First one admires the overal composition and the white space, then the harmony between the characters, then balance of strokes, and finally fine details of each line, dot and so on. Below you can see Japanese calligraphy in standard script carved in wood. It reads: 成田山 (Narita san), which is the name of the Busshist temple complex in Narita city near Tokyo. It was a gift from Akita prefecture, presented to the Narita temple back in Taisho Era (大正), year 9, i.e. 1921.
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Ponte Ryuurui (品天龍涙)
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