Sendake-in

 This is something that you often see in older temples. At some point a statue will have been broken but they still exhibit the remaining portion. The statue in the middle probably was a Buddha or Bodhisattva. I guess it works as an example of the Buddhist 'truth' that nothing is permanent.

 This is a small building containing an altar. Notice the stone model of the pagoda that is still lying on the ground a year after it fell over in the quake.

 This seems to be a meditation hall, but I am not at all sure.

 Back at the entrance again this is another view of the three bas-relief carvings. I said that they were probably Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, but thinking about it a little more they could represent Ganjin, the Buddhist priest who went to China in the 8th century and brought back the fundamentals of Tendai Buddhism, or it could be Saicho, the Buddhist priest who went to China and returned in the year 805 with more information about Tendai and then succeeded in making it popular. Tendai Buddhism allowed the first acceptance of Shinto into Buddhist thought.

 One interesting thing about this temple was the rather sporty car that was parked under a roof on the grounds. It was covered with dirt and seemed not to have been recently used, but it definitely seemed out of place.

At the entrance and opposite the three bas-relief statues were the remains of a stone carving that would sit at the end of the ridge pole in a Japanese style building. I guess that they came from a temple building that has disappeared, probably from fire or earthquake, which seem to be the two most common causes for the destruction of old buildings.

Sendake-in

 At the back of the temple grounds, I found this statue. Again probably a Buddha but I do not know which one. In the lot behind the temple they are working a new building. It looks like it might be an apartment house.

 This seems to be the main building of the temple. It was completely closed so there was no way to find out. Also there did not seem to be anyone around.

 This statue appears to be a statue of a warrior king who would protect the building from evil spirits. The row of meditating Buddhas or Bodhisattvas would give him moral support.

 This appeared to be a dragon of some kind with a little house in front. I would guess that the house is a place for offerings, but beyond that I have no idea.

 I really liked this row of bas-relief statues of Buddhas(?), especially the ones that are just cut into the side of an otherwise untouched stone.

This temple had more statues than almost any other that I can remember visiting.

Sendake-in

 This was my goal for the day and the first temple I visited as part of my plan to photograph all the temples and shrines in Sendai. This is a Tendai-shu sect temple called sendake-in. The character sen refers to a mountain aesthetic, dake to a mountain peak, and in to an institution. The character in is frequently added to the end of a name or phrase, for example, jiin where ji is a temple and in an institution. This term refers to temples, schools, hospitals, government offices, and many other institutions. This is the main entrance gate that allows entry directly from the sidewalk.

 The sign on the right says tendai-shu at the top and below in larger characters is sendake-in.

 Immediately inside the gate on the right are these three bas-relief statues of either Buddhas or Bodhisattvas.

 A little further into the grounds I found this row of bas-relief statues. Again I do not know who they represent.

 At the end of the short walkway, there is a circular stone-paved path that goes around a small garden.

 These statues were almost life sized.

The grounds were very small and seemed even smaller because much of it was overgrown. The building on the right appeared to be a meditation hall.