Oushuu33Kannon Temples 11-12-13 Part 9

Ian and I decided that it was time for a break while we waited for the woman to finish the pages for our books, so we took out the bottles of sports drink that we had been carrying since Sendai Station and sat on the stairs. While we sat there relaxing, a number of people greeted us as they walked by on their way to placing flowers on graves in the graveyard further up the hill. We were a bit surprised by their lack of surprise at two foreigners sitting there sucking on bottles of sports drink and also by their friendliness. We had finished about half our drinks when the woman came out and brought us the book pages. We paid her the 300 yen each and she left. We settled down to finish our break. All of a sudden, the woman was there again. This time she had a packet of expensive cookies for each of us - as something to go with our drinks. We talked for a bit and then she returned to the residency. Ian and I got up and started to look around the area. The first thing we found was a bell tower.
Then off to the left we discovered a row of statues, all dressed in red with fresh flowers in front of them.
This statue represents a protector of children and the words on the post say to use the ladles and pour water over it to activate the protection.
A little further on, we found a small roofed shrine dedicated to infants. The first picture shows the inside and the second the view from the bottom of the stairs leading up to it.

Oushuu33Kannon Temples 11-12-13 Part 8

This is one of the statues of Kannon which was located beside the path up the hill.
Here is another statue, although this may not be Kannon. The building with the red roof is the main shrine of this small complex to the side of the main temple. The roof on the right covers an area dedicated to children, which is appropriate because Kannon represents safe childbirth and the protection of children.
The statues under the roof are children and bodhisattvas and according to the sign are dedicated to the raising of children.
We continued up the hill to the main complex building and discovered the at the door was closed. However, we climbed up the stairs, rang the bell by pulling on the hanging cords, and stood in silent respect for a bit.
I then realized that I could see in through the square openings in the door. I stuck my camera into one of them and using the night setting. There are two curtains that are covering whatever statues the recesses contain. However, you can see where the priest would sit and chant using the large bowl-like bell. The flowers on the altar were fresh so someone had chanted earlier in the morning. The long vertical signs say that this altar is number 11 on the Oushuu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage (on the left) and also number 11 on the Shinshu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. Previously I had not heard much about these 33 Kannon pilgrimages but I have now discovered there are many of them.

Oushuu33Kannon Temples 11-12-13 Part 7

Before following the woman's instructions to the Kannon statue, Ian and I looked around a bit more. In another week or so, the cherry tree between the buildings would have been in full bloom, contrasting with the increasingly vibrant green of the other plants.
We moved back to the main gate to look at the main meditation hall again.
Off to the left we could see the beginnings of the grave yard, which stretched up the hill behind the temple.
On the base of the main hall was a row of eleven identical stone statues. As usual I briefly wondered who they represented and what their function, if anything specific, would be.
Having seen enough of the central area of the temple grounds, we decided that it was time to follow the woman's directions and visit the statue of Kannon. We turned right and passed through the space between the buildings, climbed the short flight of stairs and turned left to be greeted by this view.

My solo art exhibit

Yesterday afternoon I met my art teachers, Wakamatsu Sensei (sensei means teacher, so to my students I am Adamson Sensei), and four of the students from my class. They helped hang the 26 pictures and then we had a small party. The first two pictures are me posed with some of my pictures.

This shows the main area of the exhibit. There more pictures on the wall behind the camera and then some more at various places on the right.
This was taken by the owner during our party. My teacher is sitting across the table from me.
This shows the owner and Wakamatsu Sensei talking outside the gallery as we were leaving. All in all it was a tiring but very good day. I will leave in a bit to spend my first day talking to visitors and hoping that someone will buy something.