Oct 1, 2010

Dou'unji - Cave Cloud Temple 04


I am getting near the end of this road now. However, I have to pass another temple. The first picture today shows (on the left) the graveyard on the hill behind the temple. The taxi belongs to a fleet called "Dream Taxi". The inside of the vehicles are modified so that almost the entire area in the back is used for a comfortable slab seat. There is much more room in these than in taxis from other companies, which are just regular sedans with a meter installed.This is the bell tower and in the foreground is a sign stating the name of the temple, probably seimanji, but I am not sure which of the possible pronunciations is correct. The sign says that the temple belongs to the shinshu branch of Buddhism and that the parking spaces in front of it are for people visiting the graveyard.
This is the main gate to the grounds. Apparently the building behind the gate is the meditation hall and the house on the right is where the priest lives.
This is a view through the gate, showing a statue of Basho, the haiku poet. He is very popular in this area because of his famous book about the trip that he took. The main road up the east coast of Japan passes through this area. I have walked on parts of this old road, parts that were still bare dirt where they cut across hills.

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