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Oct 4, 2021 18 tweets 23 min read Read on X
🙏🖌️THE TEMPLE OF DARUMAS👀🙌

The Rinzai Zen temple Hōrin-ji (法輪寺/臨済宗) is famed for its huge collection of Daruma (達磨) dolls, statues, scrolls and paintings, and because of this it is better known as Daruma-dera (達磨寺).

#Kyoto #京都 #daruma #Darumadera #達磨寺 #Japan ImageImageImageImage
Daruma (達磨) is the Japanese name for Bodhidharma, a 5th or 6th monk credited with establishing Zen.
Daruma dolls, typically red and made from papier-mâché, are modeled on the story of Bodhidharma wall-gazing in a cave (close to the Shaolin Monastery) for 9 years.
#だるま #Japan ImageImageImageImage
In the 7th year it is said Bodhidharma fell asleep. Furious with himself, he cut off his eyelids and tossed them away to prevent it happening again.
Legend has it that the first tea plants sprang from those eye-lids, later helping Zen students stay away during long meditations👀 ImageImageImageImage
But why are Daruma dolls round?
During those 9 years Bodhidharma's arms and legs atrophied, and his limbs became useless. Without eyelids he had a constant, shocked appearance.

In Japan the dolls represent perseverance...a prayer to complete a difficult task or longed-for goal. ImageImageImageImage
Hōrin-ji is located on the eastern bank of the Kamiya-gawa (紙屋川). It is also known as Hōrinzen-ji (法輪禅寺), Daruma-dera (達磨寺) and Akiagari Daruma-dera (起上達磨寺 lit 'Self-righting Doll Temple'). The temple's post-WWII Daruma-dō (達磨堂) houses over 10,000 Daruma (達磨).
In 1718 Daigu Sōchiku (大愚宗築) wished to found a new temple, and so charged Mankai Jigen (万海慈源/萬海和尚) with the job.
Hōrin-ji (法輪寺) was completed sometime between 1727-30, financed by the money exchanger Araki Kōhin (荒木光品/owner of the Ise-ya store 伊勢屋).
#Kyoto ImageImageImageImage
When finished the temple was considerable in size, covering far more than the current 5000 square metres. Over the subsequent centuries 3 fires struck (the Hōjō 方丈, constructed 1718, was the only original building to survive), but it was hastily rebuilt each time.
#Japan #Kyoto ImageImageImageImage
During the Meiji Restoration and Shibutsu Bunri (神仏分離-the separation of Shinto and Buddhism) the bell hall collapsed. To save it from being seized by the anti-Buddhist government, the bell (cast in 1729) was buried in a swampy patch of ground close to the temple.
#達磨寺 ImageImageImageImage
In 1934 Abbot Isan (後藤伊山 1894-1963) began to construct a new temple kitchen. Miraculously the bell was unearthed. Sleeping inside was a white snake. Because they are believed to be familiars of the goddess Benzaiten (弁才天), the bell was renamed Benten-kane (弁天鐘).
#Japan ImageImageImageImage
Isan was pivotal in reviving Hōrin-ji. After the horrors of WWII, he began work on the Daruma-dō (達磨堂).
Daruma famously right themselves after being knocked down, and Isan hoped that Japan would do the same. Enshrining images of Daruma, the hall (& temple) now has over 10,000. ImageImageImageImage
In the temple grounds one stone Daruma called 'Jūnishi Eto Daruma Daishi' (十二支エト達磨大師) watches over the Jūnishi (十二支 the '12 Zodiac Animals'). The statue was donated by a local company to guard the souls of deceased animals and pets.
#zodiac #daruma #Bodhidharma #達磨 ImageImageImageImage
On the ceiling of the Shujō-dō (衆生堂) is a painting of Daruma by Higuchi Bunshō (樋口文勝). He was 83 when he completed the work.
Bunshō dedicated his life to painting images of Daruma. This is his 40500th work! The inscription is by Yamada Mumon (山田無文 1900-88).
#京都 #達磨 ImageImageImageImage
In 1940 Ikenaga Hirohisa (池永浩久 d1954), head of the film studio Nikkatsu Uzamasa Satsueijo (日活太秦撮影所), founded the Dainippon Eiga Daidō-e (大日本映画大道会 Greater Japan Film Service). At this time he built an altar room in his home called Kinema-ji (貴寧磨寺).
#Japan ImageImageImageImage
The altar enshrined figures from Japan's film industry. In 1944 Hōrin-ji’s head priest Gotō Isan, a friend of Ikenaga, agreed to begin an official altar at the temple. To this day many people come on pilgrimage to pay their respects to the famous actors, directors and producers. ImageImageImageImage
Included (amongst the 800 enshrined) are the famous names Inada Katsutaro (稲田勝太郎), Yokota Einosuke (横田永之助), Onoe Matsunosuke (尾上松之助), Makino Shōzō (牧野省三), Denjirō Okochi (大河内伝次郎), Bandō Mitsugorō (坂東三津五郎) and Mochidzuki Yūko (望月優子).
#京都 #Japan ImageImageImageImage
Okuda Ryūji's (奥田龍司) 20thC dry landscape garden is made up of cattle-like rocks. Called the '10 Ox Garden' (十牛庭 'Jūgyū-tei'), it indicates the enlightenment levels in Zen...the journey of a novice as he goes through training.
🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂
#Kyoto #京都 #Japan #達磨 ImageImageImageImage
The 'Ten Ox Herding Pictures' (十牛図 Jūgyū) are a series of poems & pictures used in Zen to show the stages of a practitioner's progress toward enlightenment. The ox was long used as a simile for meditation practice, & a series of paintings first appeared in China in the 11thC. ImageImageImageImage
In the Jūgyū-no-niwa (十牛の庭/十牛庭), the cattle and boy featured in the paintings are represented by rocks of different sizes. The focus point is the Gagyū-seki (臥牛石), a megalith symbolising a cow at rest.
Kyōto has a few such gardens.
#Kyoto #京都 #十牛庭 #達磨寺 #だるま

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More from @camelliakyoto

May 28
🔔🪨😭THE GREAT BUDDHA'S WONDERS🐂💢👂

Kyōto was once home to the greatest statue of Buddha in all Japan.
4m taller than Tōdai-ji's Daibutsu, the statue stood in an immense hall in precincts now taken up by Toyokuni-jinja and Hōkō-ji (remnant of the original Buddha's home).


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The great hall and last (vastly smaller) incarnation of Kyōto's Daibutsu are sadly lost, but within the neighbourhood (where once the temple precincts sprawled) are a series of wonders.
They include a great bell that brought down a ruling clan, an exploding cow, & a tomb of ears.


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1) THE CHIMES OF DOOM🔔

Having seized control of the country after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu calmly waited for an excuse to destroy the rival Toyotomi clan.
His chance came with the forging of a new bell and an inscription that could be read as a threat.


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Aug 21, 2023
🙊THE MONKEY'S SLIDE🛝
At first glance the teahouse garden appears to be made up of mostly moss, pine & camellia...but if you look more closely the borders are packed thick with dozens of varieties of plants.
One of the most beautiful at this time of year is the "Monkey's Slide".


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More commonly known as crape myrtle (百日紅), older generations in Japan fondly call the tree 'saru suberi' (サルスベリ the "monkey's slide").
The bark of the tree is so smooth that even monkeys struggle to get a foothold!

#Kyoto #京都 #Japan #百日紅 #サルスベリ #IwataMonkeyPark


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Crape (also crepe) myrtle gets its name from the appearance of its flowers, which look very much like crepe paper.
Blooming from mid-summer through to autumn, the flowers (commonly bright pink) are also known in Japan as 'hyakujitsukō' (百日紅 'red for 100 days').

#Japan #百日紅


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Jun 19, 2023
🎨A MODERN TOUCH🖌️

One of the Shōren-in's (青蓮院) most striking features greets you as you enter the drawing room...a series of bold coloured lotuses, blooming across 60 panels.
Begun in 2005, the work was created by the artist 'Ki-yan' (キーヤン/Kimura Hideki 木村英輝).
#Japan ImageImageImageImage
When visiting Shōren-in, Kimura was suddenly inspired to fill the drawing room's plain fusuma with colour.

It took him two years to complete the 3 sets of lotus paintings (蓮三部作)...
🪷"Blue Illusion" (青の幻想)
🪷"Amitabha's Pure Land" (極楽浄土)
🪷"Hymn of Life" (生命賛歌) ImageImageImageImage
Why all the blue lotuses?🤔

Shōren-in was originally constructed atop Mt Hiei as a lodging facility for monks serving at Enryaku-ji.

Shōren-bō was named after a nearby pond in which blue lotus flowers bloomed ('shōrenge'). Many famous monks, such as Saichō & Ennin, lived here. twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Read 8 tweets
May 11, 2023
🚪😱HAUNTED GATES & DANCING CATS😼👻

It's been a while since I've done a #folklorethursday, so here's some local, rather less well-known tales.

Demizu was once home to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lavish palace 'Jurakudai' (聚樂第), and the area has many strange wonders.
#Kyoto #京都 ImageImageImageImage
Kannon-ji's 'Gate of 100 Lashings' (観音寺 百叩きの門) belonged originally to the prison at Fushimi Castle (伏見城). When the castle was dismantled the doorway was gifted to the temple🏯🚪🩸😰👋

The gate is just 1 of the '7 Wonders of Demizu' (出水の七不思議).
#Kyoto #京都 #出水 ImageImageImageImage
Before prisoners were set free they underwent a final punishment at the prison gate...a warning to stay on the straight & narrow.
They were lashed 100 times with a piece of split bamboo across the back. It was agonizing, & sometimes deadly!

Image thanks🙇‍♂️-bakumatsuya.com ImageImageImageImage
Read 23 tweets
May 10, 2023
'May Sickness' (五月病 'gogatsu-byō') is a term for a seasonal disorder that strikes just as Golden Week comes to an end.
After the flurry of changes that take place each April, it may seem like May should be smooth sailing, but returning to work/school after the break is tough. ImageImageImageImage
It may seem like a small thing, but sweets absolutely help lift a gloomy mood...

🌫️🌩️☁️😶‍🌫️🌥️🌤️🌞

Kameya Yoshinaga (亀屋良長) has done the impossible and perfectly captured the blue skies & cotton puff clouds of May in sweet form☺️

The wonderful 'hikōki-gumo' (ひこうき雲)✨ ImageImageImageImage
While 'May Blues' doesn't sound particularly serious, in some cases it can lead to depression, anxiety & insomnia.
In April the new school/work year begins, and there's a feeling that Golden Week only helps exacerbate feelings of disorientation, mental exhaustion, & apprehension. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Read 4 tweets
Apr 20, 2023
Astonishingly the temperature will soar close to 30 degrees today...the hottest day of the year so far😓

As this heat is a little unexpected we swooped on Ishidatami (石畳) for their famous matcha soft serve (抹茶ソフトクリーム). Fresh matcha is kneaded into the ice-cream🍵🍨🙌 ImageImageImageImage
Fresh matcha as an ingredient in cooking and baking tends to lose its flavour quickly, and so Ishidatami doesn't serve ice-cream older than 3 hours, preferring instead to make new batches throughout the day😮

#Kyoto #京都 #matcha #抹茶 #icecream #Ninenzaka #二年坂 ImageImageImageImage
Another favourite (though much pricier) way to cool down is with Oimatsu's (老松) cheerful 'natsukan-tō' (夏柑糖 'sugared Chinese citron')🍊🥰

#Kyoto #京都 #夏柑糖 #老松 #oimatsu #Japan #citron #chinesecitron #orange
Read 4 tweets

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