Yesterday I happened to explore the north-west corner of Kyoto, in which are located three World Heritage Sites, all of which are Buddhist temples in one form or another. The Golden Pavilion is world famous for its exquisite beauty and … Read the rest
Category: World Heritage (Page 9 of 10)
Futarasan Shrine is part of the complex, along with Toshogu shrine and Rinno-ji temple, that makes up the World Heritage Site of Nikko. it was founded in 767 by a monk called Shodo Shonin and dedicated to three Izumo … Read the rest
A syncretic mausoleum
As the centrepiece of Nikko, Toshogu is one of the most famed destinations in Japan. Ornate, colourful, elaborate, it acts as mausoleum for Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), founder of Japan’s most successful shogunate dynasty,.
Unfortunately for me, … Read the rest
My local shrine in Kyoto, Shimogamo Jinja, happens to be one of the city’s 17 World Heritage ‘properties’. Today it held a festival for used hanko seals at which there was a ritual of some thirty minutes for priests … Read the rest
Tiny Mt Kinkei is a sacred mount and a World Heritage Site. Yet it’s only 96 meters tall and barely noticeable on the Hiraizumi skyline. So why is it so special?
In The Sacred and the Profane, Mircea … Read the rest
In recent days an observant reader may have noticed that I’ve posted entries on Shiretoko in Hokkaido, Shirakawa Sanchi in Aomori and now Hiraizumi also in Tohoku. What do they have in common?
The answer is that they are … Read the rest
Virgin beech
For the past few days I’ve been touring Shirakawa Sanchi, a wonderful World Heritage Site featuring virgin beech forests covering a mountainous range in northern Tohoku. It’s given me a taste of life on the wild side. … Read the rest