For a shrine near Hiroshima Station, visit Hiroshima Tōshōgū (広島東照宮). It is less than a 10-minute walk away from the bullet train exit! It is one of the only places in Hiroshima City center with architecture built in the Edo period (1603 – 1867). Furthermore, it is the shrine that enshrined the great samurai, Tokugawa […]
Hiroshima Tōshōgū: Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Shrine in Hiroshima Read More »
Mitaki-dera (三瀧寺 or 三滝寺) is a temple standing in the middle of Mt. Mitaki (三滝山). Throughout the precinct of the temple, there are a couple of mountain streams flowing from the three majestic waterfalls. It might sound like the temple is hard to get to when we say it is in a mountain, but that
Mitaki-dera: The Stunning Temple in Hiroshima’s City Center Read More »
Ōsaki-ji (大崎寺) is a temple standing at the cliff in the middle of the 4 km Kaizu Ōsaki‘s cherry blossom road. It was erected by the revered monk Taichō (泰澄) in 702. At the time, it was a branch temple of Nara’s Kōfuku-ji (興福寺) and had as many as 39 monks’ temple quarters around the
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You probably all know about the great torii gate standing in the sea in Miyajima/Hiroshima, but did you know you don’t need to travel all the way down south for a similar view? Just north of Kyoto in Shiga Prefecture, Shirahige Shrine (白鬚神社) is another shrine in Japan that has its torii gate in the
Shirahige Shrine and the Torii Gate in Lake Biwa Read More »
Daitsū-ji Temple (長浜別院 大通寺) is a branch temple of the Higashi Honganji (東本願寺) in Kyoto, belonging to the Shinshū Ōtani school (真宗大谷派). On the temple’s precinct, there are many Important Cultural Properties, including the Grand Hall relocated from Fushimi Momoyama Castle, a tower gate from Nagahama Castle, a bell from the Nanboku-chō period (1336 –
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A couple of Hōkoku Shrine (豊国神社) enshrines Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Japan, and one of them is in Nagahama. His retainers, Katō Kiyomasa (加藤清正) and Kimura Shigenari (木村重成), are also enshrined here. The citizens of Nagahama erected the shrine to commemorate Hideyoshi’s third anniversary in 1600. But, after the Tokugawa shogunate was established, the shrine was
Hōkoku Shrine: A Must-Visit Spot for Japanese History Buff Read More »
When visiting a Japanese shrine, you must have seen those wooden plates with people’s wishes written on the back, hung on one side of the precinct. If you ever wonder where those wooden plates originated, then visit Niukawakami Shrine (丹生川上神社) in Nara‘s Yoshino District. Furthermore, you get to act like a Shinto priest swinging the
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Tamaki Shrine (玉置神社) in Totsukawa Village, almost at the summit of Mt. Tamaki (Tamakisan, 玉置山), is the oldest shrine in Japan. The shrine is at an altitude of 1,076 meters and was founded in BC 37 by the imperial court for demon expulsion. In 2004, the shrine, one of the Shugendō’s (修験道) training sites, was registered
Tamaki Shrine – The Shrine that Can only Be Reached if Summonded Read More »
Kōyasan, or Mt. Kōya, is a sacred mountainous area north of Wakayama Prefecture surrounded by peaks about 1,000 meters above sea level. Having received a three-star rating in the “Michelin Green Guide Japan”, it remains an enigma to most of us. For more than 1200 years, this irreplaceable sacred settlement has enchanted people in Japan
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Kōyasan Kongōbuji (高野山真言宗総本山金剛峯寺), opposite Danjō Garan, is the headquarters of the Shingon sect in Japan. The temple has a large precinct that houses many buildings that are lavishly and beautifully designed. Besides the gorgeous paintings on fusuma doors and Buddha statues, Kongōbuji is best known for its Banryūtei Garden. This largest rock garden in Japan
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