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Today’s first photo is of the two-storied Sanmon (山門) Gate at Heirin-Ji. Another original from the 17th Century, it was moved 25 kilometers to its present location long ago.
This cemetery (霊園) was one of several, and the only typical one we saw, on the grounds. One featured a large burial mound and then there was the stone lantern resting place (松平信綱墓) as well.
Bamboo (竹) is the Zen plant. Bamboo is pliable but nearly unbreakable, beautiful to contemplate, and wonderful to listen to when the wind blows. Bamboo is empty on the inside, but it grows at a frightening pace.
The Zen apprentices at Heirin-Ji live a simple life. We saw them doing their laundry. The above, thatch-roof building appeared to be their woodshed.
Today’s second pic is the promised one from yesterday.
The Butsuden (仏殿) at Heirinji is an original from the 17th Century. It is one of many structures at Heirinji with a thatched roof.
The above long row of stone lanterns (石燈籠) led to a graveyard of hundreds of large stone lanterns. Photos from there tomorrow as our week of Zen continues…
The highlight of the previously mentioned walk is Heirinji (平林寺), quite possibly the most wonderful place on earth.
I have been to other Zen temples before in China, Kyoto, and Kamakura. Zen temples are my favorite, but they lose a lot of their impact when they are crawling with people. Even though the weather was perfect, we visited Heirinji on a Friday, without anything in particular in bloom or changing color, which meant we shared the nearly 500 acres with about five retired Japanese couples and a few monks who live there. Needless to say, we rarely saw anyone as we explored the grounds in peace.
The top photo is of Hansobo (半僧坊). You can find this structure to the left after paying 500 yen (rather expensive but worth it) and entering through the first gate (built in the Edo Period).
Heirinji is loaded with Japanese Maple trees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many. Combine them with bamboo and a blue-sky day for best results.
As always, you can click on these images for a much larger (and better) view.
I’ll add more photos from these Zen surroundings over the next week. Stay tuned…
The weather forecast for last Friday was outstanding. We woke up to blue skies. The future forecast didn’t look so great, and with rainy season just around the corner, it looked like this may be the last day of blue skies we may see for quite a while. So we grabbed Water Walks in the Suburbs of Tokyo and jumped on the train. Our purpose was to do “Walk 13: Nobidome 野火止.”
Along the way we could see Mt. Fuji from the train. It was that kind of day.
Our destination was Niiza in Saitama. The train station platform had to be the ugliest I have ever seen in Japan, but the direction we took from the station had a nice country feel to it.
Note that if you are following the same guidebook, the old, rustic sign before the first stop light is no longer there. Another stop light has been put in, so you want to follow the Astro Boy sign in the sidewalk before the second stop light.
If you’ve been in Tokyo for too long and need to see a farm (or a few dozen of them) again then this is a good place to visit. Flowers are everywhere in Tokyo and this place appears to be a supplier.
Family grave sites in the middle of farms are a common sight in Japan.