#rinnoji

[crazyfox-archives]

A painted image of Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva (千手観音菩薩) by Tenjin Hoshin'nō (天真法親王), 1689

Hanging scroll in the collection of Rinnōji Temple (輪王寺) in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture

Image from "Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600-2005" by Patricia J. Graham, page 245

[rollingtsuchinoko]

Rinnoji Taiyuin Temple, Nikko, Japan

[sailorluchia]

Rinnô-ji (輪王寺), Part.3.

February 2017.

[sailorluchia]

Rinnô-ji (輪王寺), Part.2.

February 2017.

[rollingtsuchinoko]

Rinnoji Temple, Nikko, Japan

[sanssouciavecmoi]

13/06/2007: Gardens of Rinnoji, Nikko

[meowzone]

Temples of Nikko

I could have spent a week, nay a month(!) in Nikko and still not have seen everything. There are so many temples, shrines, statues, etc. in what at first seems like a small, confined area on a map. But once you’re there and walking around the complexes, you realize just how vast it is. There are many details within each building as well and stairs, so many stairs. The temple complexes are built on hills and in the space of one day, I completely exhausted myself seeing everything I could in Nikko before taking a train back to Tokyo. There are still mountains, rivers, and lakes to witness, not to mention the wildlife. I met a man who shared a picture of a wild tanuki he had recently taken. Alas, I saw no such creatures.

I managed to see Rinnou-ji temple, Toushou-gu shrine, Taiyuu-in mausoleum, Nikko Futarasan-jinja shrine, Shiraito No Taki waterfall, Shinkyo bridge over Daiya-gawa river, so many torii gates, some smaller bits around the aforementioned complexes, and eat a full set shojin ryori meal (vegan monk food).

These sites are old, much older than the current buildings still standing. For example, the site of Rinnou-ji was established in 766 and the oldest building in Nikko is from 1617 at Futarasan-jinja, if my internet research is accurate. Toushou-gu shrine is pretty intense. It’s not necessarily religious, more of a memorial to a historically important person. It is for Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the most famous samurai ever and founder of the Tokugawa clan. Perhaps it is famous for non-Japanese as the site of the three wise monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil), which is just one small panel of artwork in a vast complex. After all the elaborate buildings and decorations, you climb many stairs until you get to a giant bronze urn that contains Tokugawa’s remains, which is actually quite plain compared to everything else there, but still quite an elaborate mausoleum. Tokugawa’s grandson Ieyasu also has a mausoleum, Taiyuu-in, but it’s not as vast and hilly as Toushou-gu.

A lot of Japanese school children go to Nikko on a field trip and I would not have appreciated such trips as a child. Culture and history were often boring. I am so glad to explore this place as an adult. This concluded the main items I wanted to see and do on my trip. There were some places I wanted to shop at and some food I wanted to try but mostly it was about seeing the various famous places I haven’t been to yet. So many more to see in the future.

[kwanezra]

#rinnoji #nikko (輪王寺) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHHigXfhajl4eOvGHf3x1wWa1dNp1OWhrF0yGw0/?igshid=dw8olqde8pru