Tuesday Shrine - Ema

Ema - wooden  wishing plaques are a feature at most Shino shrines.  The designs on the small wooden boards, such as these at Nezu Shrine - the azalea shrine- are very pretty and usually in the theme of the shrine.  

Ema at Hie  shrine another Tokyo shrine show images related to love and easy delivery of children which is the shrine is known for.

Ema can be purchased for approx 500 yen ($7 AUD) to write a message on and then tie it to a scaffold at the shrine.

Buddhas X Buddhas

Azalea

Sunday afternoon was spent slowly walking amongst azaleas.  My mother always liked azaleas and they provided a spot of  colour in the garden.  However I'm sure she never envisaged azaleas  planted en masse and on such a scale.  

The Nezu shrine in the Bunkyu- ku area of Tokyois famous for its azaleas and the azalea festival drew a huge crowd.

Charred Boards

The striking black boards of houses and building in Kyoto (and suburban Tokyo) are cedar that have been purposely charred as a means of protection agains the weather and future fire.  The technique know as shou sugi ban or yaki sugi ita is becoming a trend in western countries too. Wonder if I could add a charred feature wall to Finch St???  It does look amazing, but the technique requires specific timber.  I like the vertical run of the boards too.

Torii gates in the forest

Orange torii gates on a path peeking through the green forest of Fushimi Inari shrine.

Maples

View to maples from a bridge over a small creek in the gardens at Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto. The brilliant green of the new spring leaves was spectacular.

Zen Gardens

Kyoto is the spiritual centre of Zen Buddhism so it has many karesansui (dry landscape) gardens -commonly known as Zen Gardens.  The Hojo gardens at Tofukuji Temple, right and the Nanzen-ji Temple are examples of the simplicity, elegance and restraint in a garden of only rocks and gravel.