The Great Buddha of Todai-ji, Nara

Finally I have arrived in Nara which is one of my most wanted historical places to visit in Japan besides Kyoto. To add the icing on the cake, this trip was during the New Year 2012. The most famous of all is the Tōdai-ji (東大寺, Great Eastern  Temple), is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. The Great Buddha Hall, Daibutsuden (大仏殿), which is the the largest wooden building in the world, houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. Sika deer, regarded as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion, roam the grounds freely. I will be blogging about the Sika deer in the next posting.

The beginning this complex can be dated back to the year A.D.728, when Emperor Shōmu established Kinshōsen-ji (金鐘山寺) as an appeasement for Prince Motoi, his first son with his Fujiwara clan consort Kōmyōshi. Prince Motoi died a year after his birth. During the Tenpyō era, Japan suffered from a series of disasters and epidemics. It was after experiencing these problems that Emperor Shōmu issued an edict in 741 to promote the construction of provincial temples throughout the nation. Tōdai-ji (still Kinshōsen-ji at the time) was appointed as the Provincial temple of Yamato Province and the head of all the provincial temples. With the alleged coup d'état by Nagaya in 729, an outbreak of smallpox around 735–737, worsened by consecutive years of poor crops, then followed by a rebellion led by Fujiwara no Hirotsugu in 740, the country was in a chaotic position. Emperor Shōmu had been forced to move the capital four times, indicating the level of instability during this period.

(Source: Wikipedia, 2012)

Enough of history. Let’s move on to the photos.

The fees for entering this temple is at 500 yen per person. Upon entering, you will be able to see such a huge temple complex

Kiyomizu Temple of Kyoto 2012

It’s been 4 years since my last trip to Kyoto in the year 2008. And every Kyoto trip must not give a miss to the ever historical Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺).

Officially known as Otowa-san, Kiyomizu-dera (音羽山清水寺) is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto. The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) UNESCO World Heritage site.

Kiyomizu-dera was founded in the early Heian period (794 to 1185). The original temple dates back to 778, and its present buildings were constructed in 1633, during a restoration ordered by the Tokugawa Iemitsu. You can see that there is not a single nail used in the entire structure.

Besides that, the name, Kiyomizu got its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water, or pure water.

The usual sight when reaching the temple.

Three of us again at the same spot taking photo together after nearly 4 years

The Silver Pavillion (Ginkaku-ji - 銀閣寺) of Kyoto

The Silver Pavilion or better known as Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺) is a Zen temple in Kyoto built in the year 1490. It was founded by the 8th shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. The structure's design was built to emulate the Golven Pavillion (Kinkaku-ji) but no real silver is used for the construction. Similar to Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji was also built as a place of rest and solitude for the Shogun.

In addition to the temple's famous building, the are was featured with wooded grounds sovered with mosses. The Japanese Zen garden was designed by a famous landscaper artist name Soami. The sand garden which will be shown below is one of the best feature of Ginkaku-ji.

Enjoy the photos below!!

The Sand Garden greeting its visitors

The Kogetsudai, carefully formed pile of sand which is said to symbolize Mount Fuji

A landscape shot of the Sand Zen Garden. I wonder what will happen if it rains...Click to enlarge

 As we further enter, here we go, the Silver pavillion with shots from different point of view

Memorable New Year Experience in Nara, Japan

Happy New Year 2012 to every of my blog visitors! May you all have a wonderful year ahead!

To start off with the year 2012, I would like to share my memorable new year experience with Japanese tradition. Thanks to my best friend's invitation, I was able to welcome the new year 2012 in Nara, Japan at the cool relaxing countryside of Yoshino.

As an introduction, Japanese New Year or term as Shogatsu (正月) is one of the most important celebration in Japan. Before the Meiji Era, the New Year was celebrated on the same date as Lunar New Year but somehow after the Meiji restoration the date was shifted to Gregorian calendar. Please don't ask me why...hehe

New Year's Eve (Omisoka)

The New Year eve or omisoka (大晦日) is the 2nd most important day because, it is the last day of the year. During this time, I helped my friend's family in spring cleaning their home and also decorating their house.

First is the Kadoumatsu, which is to welcome the ancestral spirits or kami (God) of the harvest. They are placed after Christmas until January 7 (or January 15 during the Edo period) and are considered temporary housing (shintai) for the kami. Designs for kadomatsu vary depending on region but are typically made of pine, bamboo, and sometimes ume tree sprigs which represent longevity, prosperity and steadfastness, respectively. "The fundamental function of the New Year ceremonies is to honor and receive the toshigami (deity), who will then bring a bountiful harvest for farmers and bestow the ancestors' blessing on everyone." After January 15 (or in many instances the 19th) the kadomatsu is burned to appease the kami or toshigami and release them. (wikipedia, 2012)

the Kadoumatsu Bamboo decoration and a waving cat to welcome good luck is placed at the front entrance of their home

Global Headquarters of Nissan Motor, Yokohama, Japan

In the first week of my arrival in Yokohama, I managed to visit the Global Headquarters of Nissan Motor Company Limited. As a proud IPoS Alumni (Intensive Program on Sustainability) sponsored by Nissan Science Foundation, I was delighted to have visited the showroom/museum situated at the ground floor of the building. 

For your information, the Nissan HQ is situated adjacent to the Yokohama Station and the entrance is free. As seen in the photo below, that huge building is their new HQ since the year 2010. That building is owned by Nissan itself...The older HQ in Tokyo was rent out to other company.

Global Headquarters of Nissan Motor Company Ltd

 Let's get into the showroom for a hell of a car ride!!

Yummy!! Ramen Museum of Japan (Showa Era)

Ohayou!Konnichiwa!Konbanha! Finally I am back again with a post from Japan. This time it is all about food..well about the national food of Japan, Ramen! To document further on ramen, I visited the Raumen Museum thanks to my two Japanese friend.

The Ramen (Raumen) Museum was first established in the year 1994 and thus was the first food amusement park in the world. Well not quite an amusement centre though. Situated at near the Shin-Yokohama station, the museum opens daily including national holidays in Japan starting from 11.00am until 10.00pm.

Before entering the museum, here’s a little known story about the ever popular raumen dish in Yokohama. Raumen as a local dish was speedily popularized from Yokohama, Hakodate and Japan’s other port cities to every corner of Japan during the Taisho and Showa eras (mostly during the 20^th century. Subsequently, raumen restaurants reproduced some of the recipes from the big port cities and eventually ‘experimented’ with new local tastes and identities. Thus every local boasts its own unique style of raumen and raumen became the national food of Japan.

This is the entrance of the Ramen Museum

Zoom up green bowls of Ramen Museum