Bansho-ji – Setsubun 2024 Special

Bansho-ji 万松寺 Nagoya (名古屋) February 3, 2024 About Banshi-ji Bansho-ji is a very modern and flashy looking Buddhist temple that really fits in nicely with the surrounding arcades and electronics stores, but it’s roots are very old. It was built by the Oda family in 1540 and the funeral for the father of Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobuhide, was held here. It now houses the mortuary tablets for the Oda family. It’s popular with goshuin fans because they have a lot of beautiful designs that change every month. My Visit My husband and I were in the area because he had…

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Bansho-ji – Cut Paper Dragon 2024

Bansho-ji 万松寺 Nagoya (名古屋) January 3, 2024 About Bansho-ji Bansho-ji is a very modern and flashy looking Buddhist temple that really fits in nicely with the surrounding arcades and electronics stores, but it’s roots are very old. It was built by the Oda family in 1540 and the funeral for the father of Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobuhide, was held here. It now houses the mortuary tablets for the Oda family. It’s popular with goshuin fans because they have a lot of beautiful designs that change every month. I went specifically for their new year designs and got two versions: a…

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Bansho-ji – Dragon Two Piece 2024 Special

Bansho-ji 万松寺 Nagoya (名古屋) January 3, 2024 About Banshi-ji Bansho-ji is a very modern and flashy looking Buddhist temple that really fits in nicely with the surrounding arcades and electronics stores, but it’s roots are very old. It was built by the Oda family in 1540 and the funeral for the father of Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobuhide, was held here. It now houses the mortuary tablets for the Oda family. It’s popular with goshuin fans because they have a lot of beautiful designs that change every month. I went specifically for their new year designs and got two versions: this…

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Itsukushima Shrine

Goshuin for Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Jinja 厳島神社 Hiroshima (広島) December 1, 2023 About Itsukushima Shrine I think we’ve all seen it. The photo of the floating torii gate on the water. Images of a shrine surrounded by the sea. That’s Itsukushima Shrine. Itsukushima Shrine is located on the island of Itsukushima, better known as Miyajima, located just off the coast of Hiroshima. As lovers of Japanese history and literature are probably aware, it is also a major location in the Heike Monogatari. This is an old Japanese tale of the fall of the Taira. While he did not build the original shrine, the shrine…

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Myoshin-ji

Myoshin-ji 妙心寺 Kyoto (京都) June 17, 2023 About Myoshin-ji Myoshin-ji is a large temple complex in Kyoto and the head temple for Renzai Zen Buddhism. Most of the buildings aren’t open to the public, but you can enter the quarters (kuri) and the main hall for a fee. The quarters include the gardens, kitchen, storage areas, etc of Buddhist monks and has been used for filming movies here in Japan. The main hall features a huge painting of a dragon in the clouds on the ceiling. No matter where you stand in the room, it seems to be looking at…

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Myoshin-ji – Uryu Goshuin

Myoshin-ji 妙心寺 Kyoto (京都市) June 17, 2023 About Myoshin-ji Myoshin-ji is a large temple complex in Kyoto and the head temple for Renzai Zen Buddhism. Most of the buildings aren’t open to the public, but you can enter the quarters (kuri) and the main hall for a fee. The quarters include the gardens, kitchen, storage areas, etc of Buddhist monks and has been used for filming movies here in Japan. The main hall features a huge painting of a dragon in the clouds on the ceiling. No matter where you stand in the room, it seems to be looking at…

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Ginkaku-ji/Jisho-ji Goshuin

Ginkaku-ji / Jisho-ji 銀閣寺・慈照寺 Kyoto (京都) March 27, 2022 About Ginkaku-ji Ginkaku-ji, also known as the Silver Pavilion in English, is the more common name for Jisho-ji. It is a Rinzai sect Zen temple on the east side of Kyoto. The temple was built during the Muromachi Period by Ashikaga Yoshimasa as a retirement villa. Some people hear the name and immediately think of the shinier, more famous Kinkaku-ji, but it is a different temple entirely, though there is a connection. Kinkaku-ji was built by Yoshimasa’s grandfather and he used it as a model for his Ginkaku-ji My Visit Like…

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Kotoku-ji – Enmei Jizo Goshuin (Tsumago Juku)

Kotoku-ji – 光徳寺Tsumago(妻籠) – August 13, 2020 Many people come to Japan for Kyoto to experience the old buildings and history of Japan, but one place I recommend visiting is the old post town, Tsumago Juku, that was one of many stops along the Nakasendo that connected Kyoto and Tokyo. The old style of the town is carefully preserved, so it feels as if you’ve stepped back in time to the Edo period of Japan. Kotoku-ji is a temple located in Tsumago. Me being me, I had to stop my husband when I saw the temple to see if we…

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Kotoku-ji – Yakushinyorai (Tsumago Juku)

Kotoku-ji – 光徳寺Tsumago(妻籠) – August 23, 2020   Many people come to Japan for Kyoto to experience the old buildings and history of Japan, but one place I recommend visiting is the old post town, Tsumago Juku, that was one of many stops along the Nakasendo that connected Kyoto and Tokyo. The old style of the town is carefully preserved, so it feels as if you’ve stepped back in time to the Edo period of Japan. Kotoku-ji is a temple located in Tsumago. Me being me, I had to stop my husband when I saw the temple to see if…

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Kotoku-ji – Ebisu Goshuin (Tsumago Juku)

Kotoku-ji – 光徳寺Tsumago(妻籠) – August 23, 2020 Many people come to Japan for Kyoto to experience the old buildings and history of Japan, but one place I recommend visiting is the old post town, Tsumago Juku, that was one of many stops along the Nakasendo that connected Kyoto and Tokyo. The old style of the town is carefully preserved, so it feels as if you’ve stepped back in time to the Edo period of Japan. Kotoku-ji is a temple located in Tsumago. Me being me, I had to stop my husband when I saw the temple to see if we…

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