From my apartment window I can see the top of a Buddhist temple not far away. It took me almost a week to actually pay the place a visit. The Nichiren sect temple is called Ryochoin (亮朝院). The structure and grounds are set a bit above the rest of the neighborhood. At this link you can see an old Edo Period drawing of the place.

These two guys are the Nio guardians of the Buddha. Usually they are in the sides of the gate leading to the temple and made of wood, but at this temple they are out in the open, past the gate, at the top of the stone stairs, and made of stone. I posted some more typical pictures of them previously.

I imagine I’ll be taking many morning walks through these temple and burial grounds in the coming year. It’s nice to have so much protection nearby. 😉

This last protector is on the roof of the bell tower at 亮朝院.

Posted on August 24th, 2009 under Japan • Tags: buddhist, buildings, japan pictures, nishi-waseda, temples, Tokyo. • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed