Monday, October 1, 2012

A TEMPLE

went to see a temple named Syouhukuji at Higashi-Murayama in Tokyo.

東村山に有る正福寺に行きました。
 
Syouhukuji temple. This temple is designated as a national treasure.

What is the national treasures? Which are the things or buildings that the government assists to maintain by paying money among important cultural pproperties.

正福寺は国宝です。国宝とは重要文化財のうち政府が資金的援助をするものをさします


                                        The main gate.

正福寺の四脚門です。 これはメインの門柱2本を4本の控え柱で支えた門の事です。

 
 
we could enter inside the building and see the guardian deity.

この日は寺の内部に入れて延命地蔵を見る事が出来ました。 延命地蔵は右手に錫杖、左手に宝珠を持ってます。
 
 
This building was built by Zen Buddism style. What is Zen Buddism style of building? the answers are as follows.

The roof would warp. Fan style rafters are used under the roof. Parallel rafters are used under the pent roof.

この建物は禅宗様式で建てられてます。 大きく反った屋根が特徴です。そして屋根には扇垂木が裳階(もこし)には平行垂木が使われます。
 
This window is also Zen Buddism style.

この華頭窓も禅宗様の特徴です。 この窓は後に城郭建築にも使われました。
 
There are a few braided goods between the pillars.

円形の柱と柱の間にも組み物があります。 これを詰物と言います。 禅宗様は和様に対する言葉です。この大きな梁は大虹梁と呼ばれます。この梁に模様の無いのも禅宗様の特徴です。
 和様建築の代表的なものに延暦寺根本中堂などがあります。

 This temple is only one national treature temple in Tokyo. It's very different from traditional buildings in Kyoto or Nara.
 
 
 

6 comments:

  1. I am glad to revisit the details. I really like the gates.

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    Replies
    1. Dear Carmen. Thank you. I like this gate very much too.

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    2. This is fascinating. Your photos give us a good sense of being there.

      I could find an English site with information about this Rinzai Zen temple here.

      At more than 600 years old the structure is the oldest in all of the Tokyo region.

      It is interesting how its remoteness from Kamakura allowed its Kamakura-style architecture to survive when almost all other examples of the style have suffered destruction (mentioned here in the article)

      In many of the photos at the bottom of the Wiki link above we can see the wooden figurines the article mentions in regards to the temple's tradition as a place of healing.

      Thank you for posting this. It is so beautiful, informative, and impressive.

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    3. Dear Tall. Thank you very much for your comment. This temple is located in the surburbs of Tokyo.We can go to Kamakura in one hour from Tokyo railroad station by train. Not so far.

      We had indiscriminate air raids at the end of the World War Ⅱ. All of historical building were born out at central area in Tokyo.
      So this temple remainded, because of located in the surburbs in Tokyo.
      Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

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  2. I taught an English class at a company in Higashi Murayama one evening a week in 1987-88. That was when Kokubunji Station was open-air and no Marui Building overhead. I got to Higashi Murayama by transferring to the Seibu Kokubunji Line at Kokubunji Station. There have been many changes in Higashi Murayama but Shōfuku-ji remains the same and has remained the same for hundreds of years. Because I live in a young country I sometimes find the length of Japanese history to be hard to comprehend.

    By the way, I wonder why there are more photographs of Shōfuku-ji at the English page of Wikipedia than at the Japanese page here. I wonder if there are any differences in the text as well.

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    Replies
    1. Hi. It's a incisive comment!I found this thing by your indication.
      But such things can be seen in many fields.
      I bought a book named One hundred Famous Views of Edo(江戸名所百景)a few years ago,published by Iwanami-shoten.
       This book was written by Henry Smith and translated into Japanese. I was very surprised.
      Wishing you a wonderful day in the middle of this week.

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