Monday, March 12, 2007

Manyo no Mori and Fudouji

The world famous Manyo no mori
Last Sunday- I had also explored (in addition to exploring the Magnolias and Miyakoda park) a nearby park named Manyo no Mori, which was pretty small but pleasant.

Underneath Manyo no Mori was more interesting to me, as there was a small temple named Fudouji that I thought was kind of interesting.I meant to blog about this earlier, but only had the chance to read the name of the temple for me tonight! Here is the layout;

A map at the bottom of the stairs
The gate(or torii) at the bottom was not your traditional wooden gate , but a metallic and rounder looking one. It looks almost like it could be the entrance for some fast food restaurant.
Torii on the stairs
Greeting visitors as they reach the top of the stairs is a long pole with writing on it, my best guess is that it is some sort of scripture, I really just thought it looked cool.
First view of the temple at the top of the steps
Hanging in the rafters of the temple itself is this weathered painting that took me a few minutes to figure out what it is meant to be. Either way it looks like it has a history and even it's condition simply tells me a story.
A serene looking picture has been around for a few years
Separate from the main temple was a smaller mini alter or shrine that has a bunch of little torii leading up to it.
Many torii leading you into the divine land
And there was another separate spot for praying this one has a tengu mask hanging above it.

Put your five yen in the box and pray as tengu looks down on you
I have driven past the area where this park and temple are at least 2-3 times a week and had never bothered to check it out. I was happy to finally go and find another little unknown treasure in my town!
The End

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