This was one of my favorite sites in Kyoto. This temple houses 1001 life-size statues of Buddhist deities. You can't take pictures inside, but it was amazing. The picture above is one of the gates. The temple was originally built in the 1100's, but burned down. The building that stands now dates from 1266.
On the inside, there is a huge statue of
Kannon, the Buddhist god of mercy. It is more than 10 feet tall. Flanking it on either side are the 1000 smaller statues, also of
Kannon. They are all about 5 feet tall. All of the statues are gold plated. In front of the images of
Kannon stand additional Buddhist gods, the 28 guardian deities of
Kannon. At least 70 sculptors worked on the statues for this temple.
Some pretty girls on the grounds in kimonos. They have photography studios where you can dress up like a geisha and I thought about it, but then I looked on their website and the white people who did it looked kind of dumb.
Sanjusangendo is the longest wooden building in Japan.
Me in one of the gardens. The red gate behind me was a recent addition. Kyoto doesn't have an extensive subway system, so we had to take buses to get around. Not fun! The buses are so crowded and we went during a busy tourist weekend, so there were a bunch of really pushy people. We ended up taking cabs a few times, but doing a lot of walking as well. I think if you have a larger group of people taxis make more sense. It's about the same price as a bus fare and a lot more comfortable. Kyoto is a pretty small city, so it really doesn't take too long to get places. We're probably going to go back in the fall when my parents visit. Maybe I'll see some
geishas then!
This was one of my favorite sites in Kyoto. This temple houses 1001 life-size statues of Buddhist deities. You can't take pictures inside, but it was amazing. The picture above is one of the gates. The temple was originally built in the 1100's, but burned down. The building that stands now dates from 1266. 
On the inside, there is a huge statue of Kannon, the Buddhist god of mercy. It is more than 10 feet tall. Flanking it on either side are the 1000 smaller statues, also of Kannon. They are all about 5 feet tall. All of the statues are gold plated. In front of the images of Kannon stand additional Buddhist gods, the 28 guardian deities of Kannon. At least 70 sculptors worked on the statues for this temple.
Some pretty girls on the grounds in kimonos. They have photography studios where you can dress up like a geisha and I thought about it, but then I looked on their website and the white people who did it looked kind of dumb.
Sanjusangendo is the longest wooden building in Japan.
Me in one of the gardens. The red gate behind me was a recent addition. Kyoto doesn't have an extensive subway system, so we had to take buses to get around. Not fun! The buses are so crowded and we went during a busy tourist weekend, so there were a bunch of really pushy people. We ended up taking cabs a few times, but doing a lot of walking as well. I think if you have a larger group of people taxis make more sense. It's about the same price as a bus fare and a lot more comfortable. Kyoto is a pretty small city, so it really doesn't take too long to get places. We're probably going to go back in the fall when my parents visit. Maybe I'll see some geishas then!
I have been slack about keeping up with the bog for the past few weeks due to a number of things but today I caught up and I'm breathless, awestruck, etc. The food, the scenery, the architecture; it's almost too much to absorb. Thanks for opening up the world to me with your pictures and commentary.
ReplyDeleteJeri