My trip to Japan continues ……..
After our visit to the Amuse Museum we went on to the Asakusa Kannon Temple in the city, it was heaving!
So many people on their public holiday visit the temples
to pray
and to see some of the statues that are only on show on these special days.
It was too much of a crush for me so I went back outside to explore the surrounds.
People burn incense and waft the smoke over themselves as a cleansing ritual before going to the temple. How I love that smell!
Others buy fortune telling cards. You pick up a metal holder with holes at one end and shake it until a rod with a number falls out. This number corresponds o to one of the drawers above – open the drawer and take out a card….
apparently there can be bad news as well as good on those cards.
I can’t help thinking that all this seems a vast distance from the simple teachings of the Buddha – what would all those prophets in all the different philosophies and religions make of how things have evolved I wonder?
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Love the whole post (and photos) but find the fortune telling cards so interesting. Also love the cleansing ritual.
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So pleased you enjoyed this post Sarah. Japan is such a fascinating place.
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I’m a religious person but I think the way religions develop is about power and need.
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Yes definitely about power and for the powerful to control others it seems. It’s what the human ego seems to do with those pure basic teachings that is so horrifying.
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Fascinating place by the looks of it. Thanks for sharing .
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Yes it is so fascinating, I loved being there and it is so good to be able to share my journey.
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There are many different dimensions to Japan, including many contradictions. Always surprising and often delightful!
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I do so agree Jilloy! It sounds like you have been there, or are you there now? I fell in love with Japan and am so looking forward to going back one day – so much more to explore.
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Yes, I visited Asakusa and the Amuse museum last May, after spending some time in Fujino, a small mountain village west of Shibuya. I brought home new skills in shibori, katazome and indigo dyeing, enough to keep me busy practising until ‘next time’. Thank you for your post. Jill.
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How wonderful! I’d love to know more about that trip. Fujino sounds like a great place to visit.
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You can find out more about Bryan Whitehead’s workshops and life in Fujino by following his blog: http://japanesetextileworkshops.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.
(Totally addictive.)
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Oh! I am bouncing up and down with glee! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
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They would be appalled! Another interesting glimpse of Japan.
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I agree Cathy!
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