National Taiwan Museum Bronze Oxen in Taiwan
These two 90-year-old statues were once part of a Japanese Shinto shrine.#buddhism #shintoism #animals #statues #bronze #section-Atlas
National Taiwan Museum Bronze Oxen
YOKAI HERO
Cover art commissioned for a 2D platformer videogame.
#yokai #yokaihero #japan #chibi #tiger #characterdesign #dragon #shinto #shintoism #tengu #oni #torii #2dplatformer #videogames #videogameartist #coverart
We traveled to the town of Nagahama on the northeast shore of the huge Lake Biwa (琵琶湖) in Shiga Prefecture. From the resort hotel we could walk along the lake to the castle (長浜城).
On the way to Nagahama, we continued our recent pilgrimages to shrines associated with Japan's creation myth. Taga Grand Shrine (多賀大社), which is noted in the early 8th Century Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles, is dedicated to the founding gods, the male and female couple Izanagi and Izanami.
I made friends with a Japanese couple, which is something unusual in Japan that my wife's friendly parents used to do. Finally we went to an outlet mall and I renewed my tattered summer T-shirts.
#Japan #Japanese #religion #nature #travel #history #mythology #culture #castle #Shintoism #shrine #lake
Educational Museum Origami Zaragoza in Zaragoza, Spain
The first museum in Europe dedicated to the art of origami.#shintoism #museumsandcollections #museums #cultures #origami #section-Atlas
Educational Museum Origami Zaragoza
Suehiro Shrine at Hayashi Department Store in Tainan City, Taiwan
On the roof of the oldest department store in Tainan stands a Shinto shrine dating to the 1930s.#religion #elevators #colonialism #shintoism #malls #shrines #stores #section-Atlas
Suehiro Shrine at Hayashi Department Store
The Shintō shrine Jōnangū (城南宮) in Kyōto, was a palace of Emperors from the beginning of the #Heian Period in 794. It has #gardens from different periods since then, and a patch of pink and white #plum blossoms around a big stone lantern is a most stunning sight to behold. Several years ago the head priest showed me around and explained the history in Japanese. Jōnangū is not well known to tourists, but it draws many reverent Japanese.
The third photo is of a teahouse and a reddish variety of plum blossoms. The last photo shows what my American friend whom I guided got: a seal written in #calligraphy by the shrine maiden (o-miko-san). Jōnangū is written down the center, with yesterday's date down the left side. The right side is what the shrine especially offers: houyoke - a #prayer to avoid obstacles or worries, such as with one's family. There is a great demand for such #blessings nowadays.
#Japan #Kyoto #religion #Shintoism #Shinto #history #nature #travel
@religion @histodons
Small wooden plaques used to express wishes to gods have been hung up at Shinto shrines for centuries. But in the age of social media, some people are opting to cover what they have written using a sticker to protect their privacy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/11/23/japan/society/ema-privacy-protection/?utm_content=buffer3b2c5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=bffmstdn #japan #society #shintoism #worship #privacy
The Kashihara shrine (橿原神宮) area of Nara is a cradle of Japanese civilization formerly known as Yamato. I especially didn't want to miss the archaeological museum, so a couple of its treasures are included here. The shrine is dedicated to the legendary first Emperor Jimmu (神武天皇). The Buddhist temple Kumedera (久米寺) near Kashihara Jingū is a Shingon temple, but it predates the founder Kūkai. It was where Kūkai found the indecipherable Mahāvairocana Sūtra (大日経) that justified his precious voyage to Chang'an, as I alluded recently in the journal paper "Translation Issues in the Rapid Transmission of Esoteric Buddhism from India to China to Japan" at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371965557
See more details in the photo captions.
#Japan #religion #religions #Shinto #Shintoism #Buddhism #Kukai #Nara #archaeology
@religion @histodons @mythology
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