{"id":1682,"date":"2010-12-17T15:42:40","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T06:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-12-17\/1682"},"modified":"2010-12-17T15:42:40","modified_gmt":"2010-12-17T06:42:40","slug":"deep-sorrow-at-the-kongourinji-temples-path-of-jizou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-12-17\/1682","title":{"rendered":"Deep Sorrow at the Kongourinji Temple’s Path of Jizou"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Early last month, at the start of a most<\/span> photogenic fall-foliage season in the Kyoto area, I posted<\/span>\n“First Taste of Fall Colors at Shiga's Amazing Kongourinji Temple<\/a>”,\nending that post with this photo:<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStart of a Very<\/span> Long Path<\/span>\n300 meters of sorrow and anguish await\n
Vertical Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n\n\n1050×<\/span>1680<\/a>  ·  1200×<\/span>1920<\/a>  ·  1600×<\/span>2560<\/a><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

I had intended a quick followup post to explain the “300 meters of sorrow and anguish await<\/i>” caption\nof that photo, but I was<\/span> precluded from doing so by a subsequent<\/span>\nsuccession of visits to other amazing places\n(including the Konzou Temple<\/a>,\nthe Kotou-in Temple<\/a>,\nthe most impressive Yoshiminedera Temple<\/a>,\nthe Sanzen-in Temple<\/a>,\nthe Sokusouji Temple<\/a>,\nthe gardens at Shouzan<\/a>,\nthe Iwato Ochiba Shrine<\/a>, among others). I felt a<\/span> bit overwhelmed with the orgy of photogenic foliage goodness, but it's a wonderful<\/span> problem to have.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, back to the location of today's post, the many visual and\nawe-inspiring delights of the Kongourinji Temple<\/b> on the eastern side of\nLake Biwa must continue to wait for later followup posts, because today's\npost is about pain and sorrow.<\/p>\n\n

First I must explain that Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are\nreligious locations, but for most Japanese, they are cultural<\/i> and\nperhaps vaguely spiritual<\/i>, rather than religious, somewhat in the\nsame way a woman<\/span> might wear a cross<\/span> necklace as a fashion<\/span> statement rather\nthan for its religious meaning. I am Catholic<\/span> and so temples and shrines\nhave no spiritual\/religious meaning for me, but because they do to others\nI treat<\/span> them with respect and conduct myself accordingly when present.<\/p>\n\n

But my visit to the Kongourinji Temple turned out to be deeply moving... almost spiritual...\nbecause of what lies beyond the gate in the photo above.<\/p>\n\n

Here's a photo from the same position with a different<\/span> focus:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 450 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLittle Statues<\/span>\nwith bibs and pinwheels\n<\/div>\n\n

The little statues are Jizou (\u5730\u8535)<\/span><\/a>, a\ncommon<\/span> sight in neighborhoods throughout Japan as a wish<\/span> for the protection\nof children. At this temple<\/span>, I was told<\/span>, they were each placed here by\nparents who had lost a child,<\/span> as a form<\/span> of prayer that the child will find\nan easy path to heaven.<\/p>\n\n

There were a lot of statues.<\/p>\n\n

The pinwheels were in holders normally filled with flowers by the\nfamily, and while walking about I overheard<\/span> several Japanese wonder aloud\nwhy there were pinwheels instead. It seemed<\/span> obvious to me that children\nwould prefer a pinwheel<\/span> to flowers, and that the plastic pinwheels would\nlast a lot<\/span> longer, too. The few that<\/span> I broached<\/span> the idea to readily agreed.<\/p>\n\n

They lined both sides of the path, according to a sign,<\/span> for 300 meters. From where I was<\/span> at this point,\nthe path wound off into the distance as far as I could<\/span> see...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Occasionally, people ventured in...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

A TV crew from Tokyo came by...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I stood outside the path.... the main entrance to the temple complex was\na different<\/span> way.... but I couldn't<\/span> help but feel overcome by strong\nemotions. My first<\/span> thought was actually not that of losing my own child,\nbut of family members I know<\/span> who have. I started<\/span> to feel a deep<\/span> sorrow, even\nif only by proxy, to think of parents losing a child,<\/span> and for the specific\nparents represented by each statue.<\/p>\n\n

It was almost spiritual, and was the first time I'd felt anything\nremotely like that while visiting a shrine<\/span> or temple, which to me are\nplaces of cultural, historical, and photographic delight. The more I<\/span> stood\nthere, the more dispirited I felt.<\/span> Yet, I somehow<\/span> felt glad for the emotion,\nthat I had<\/span> an experience that transcended “pretty picture!”.\nIt's weird.<\/p>\n\n

I've lit incense at a temple\/shrine before, but only because I like<\/span> the\nsmell. But for some<\/span> reason I felt<\/span> compelled to light two sticks for the\naforementioned family members....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThinking of Your Sorrow<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The sign at the start of the path says something along the lines of\n“Let's go to the goddess of mercy<\/a>.\nLet's persevere for the whole 300 meters for great benefit. Let's sweat.<\/i>”<\/p>\n\n

I found out later that each statue is numbered. The two flanking<\/span> the entrance are the last\ntwo, numbers 999 and 1,000.<\/p>\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early last month, at the start of a most photogenic fall-foliage season in the Kyoto area, I posted \"First Taste of Fall Colors at Shiga's Amazing Kongourinji Temple\", ending that post with this photo:<\/p>

I had intended a quick followup post to explain the \"300 meters of sorrow and anguish await\" caption of that photo, but I was precluded from doing so by a subsequent succession of visits to other amazing places (including the Konzou Temple, the Kotou-in Temple, the most impressive Yoshiminedera Temple, the Sanzen-in Temple, the Sokusouji Temple, the gardens at Shouzan, the Iwato Ochiba Shrine, among others). [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2,3,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}