Today was our Japanese Culture day. After class we went to a Shinto Temple, which was different than I imagined, though I cant put my finger on what I imagined it to be. Shinto is not a religion in our westernized sense of the word. It is, in a nutshell, the belief and practice of honoring one's ancestors. There are no weekly services, just a building that is open to you when you need to do your stuff. The white arch thingy is a "Tora"(I'm not sure how you spell it but it sounds like that) which signifies that it is a spiritual place, and the little white papers represent individual spirits of family members that people have put up.
The Buddha and the Byodo-In Temple. This is a full scale replica of a thousand year old temple in Japan. All Buddhist temples are built in accordance with Fung Shui, so that is why there is a stream running nearby, as well as a clump a bamboo. The pond between Buddha and the temple is a Koi pond which is for good fortune among many other things.
We ended the day with a film called Rhapsody in August which I was blown away by. The film is in Japanese, but it is about The affects of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. I recommend everyone see it, really!
1 comment:
I wish I could have been there with you. I would have truly appreciated the temple. One day, Katie.
Kristie
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