Day 9 - May 24 - Toji Temple

Day 9 Photographs

Today was a treat. Hillary journeyed with us to the temple and taught us about Buddhas. iconography and some history. 

Hillary explained the purpose and significance of pagodas. They are reliquaries, a place to store and protect ancient relics. They are derived from the Stupa in India, which are mounds of dirt with a wooden timber down the center. At the bottom of the wooden pillar are the relics. There is a stick that comes out of the mound to show its location.

The pagodas are similar. They can have several different stories. The pagoda at Toji has five. It is a National Treasure from the Edo period. In Japan, all numbers have some sort of significance.

The pagodas have a heart timber, shinbashira, running down the center of the structure, which is very sturdy. It is able to withstand earthquakes. How the shinbashira does this has been studied, "Indeed, far from carrying the building’s main loads, as the trunk of a tree does, the shinbashira—made from precious straight-grained Japanese cypress—is not even rooted in the soil. In some instances, it dangles freely above the ground; in others, it merely rests lightly on the foundations or second floor.

Even more strangely, the individual floors of a pagoda are not rigidly attached to those immediately above and below." Read more ... http://www.economist.com/node/14156084?story_id=14156084&fsrc=nwl

At the bottom of the timber under the ground are the relics.

On the first floor of the pagoda are the directional Buddhas, all with different mudra, the hand positions of the Buddha. Directional Buddha’s are very important for protection.

The Buddha’s are surrounded by their eight followers.

The process of creating the sculptures is very labor intensive. The sculptures are crafted from several pieces of wood and fitted together. They are then covered with lacquer soaked cloth. After this dries they are covered with gold foil.

The buildings and sculptures took many years to construct. As Taka said about Ryonji temple, "We use a thousand year old tree so the building lasts one thousand years."

Culturally speaking, Japanese are long-term thinkers and planners. This is clear when you see all of the magnificent buildings and sculptures that are still standing and intact. The materials chosen are extremely important as well as the craftsmanship.

Perhaps, the Buddhist religion in which followers are reborn encourages followers to think long-term. By preparing for the future of the children, grandchildren and others, they are also preparing for their next future. The belief in reincarnation fosters long-term thinking in the culture.