Oct 14, 2010

Dou'unji - Cave Cloud Temple 14


This is a closer view of the main hall. The hill-top meditation hall can be seen in the upper right of the picture. This is a Zen temple so it does not have all the places for burning incense, for leaving burning candles, and for leaving gifts of coins that are found in the Shingon temples that I visited during the Henro pilgrimage.This is a small shrine that is on your right when facing the main hall. Notice the rope hanging down from the center of the roof. Pulling on this rings a bell, the sound of which notifies whoever or whatever is interested that you are their and are doing to do some sort of devotion. I believe that these bells are primarily the result of Shinto influence, but I certainly would not argue the point if someone wanted to correct me.
A close-up of one of the 'lions' guarding the shrine to prevent any evil from entering. As you can see in the above picture, there is one on each side of the shrine.
The main hall is on the right and behind it is the housing for the resident priest. The bell tower is partially visible through the leaves on the left. Also in front of the priest's house, you see a bit of a bridge with red railings. This bridge is in the traditional oriental style. The road surface is curved, actually part of a circle.

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