Pages

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Nara photoglut

Another pretty ok set! I hope we're not all getting tired of these yet, because there'll be more in the future.
 Gyouki, a Buddhist monk, enemy of the government and hero of the people. He travelled around the Kansai area establishing temples in the vein of community centres. Later on he and the ruling officials made peace, and he used his expertise to help oversee the construction of Toudaiji. And now there's a statue of him outside Kintetsu Nara.
 This is just for all the girls who squeal over cute animals. This one is cute, right? I don't really understand girls very well.
 Five-Storey Pagoda and Daikodou Hall. Even if you infiltrated the Five-Storey Pagoda you wouldn't actually be able to reach the top, because the stairs and stuff just stop. Way to falsely advertise, Buddhism.
 Weird little lake that Cologne, HK and I went to check out while the other ten or so stood yelling at us to hurry up for five minutes straight.

 Anarchy in the UK and I found this hilarious for some reason.
 Green space that stretches on like this forever. Do they cull the trees to keep them from growing up too close together? They're awfully consistent.
 Fairly big mansion right there in the middle of the park. Sort of like what Mr Sunnyside had going in Central Park in Sakura Taisen V.
 They let you get awfully close. Well obviously, since they assume you're going to feed them.
 Solid twelve feet tall at least, I'd say. Although the shashin doesn't really utsuru it.
 These lanterns line the paths for a looooooong way. Like, kilometres.
 In thanks for the bounty your grace hath given us, we offer thee...beer! Well, if I ever became a deity, I know I'd appreciate beer more than incense or cow's blood.
 Can you kind of see that dog statue on the left, there? This will be important later.
 REALLY close!

 I told you, they're goddamn everywhere.
 The terminus of Lantern Lane.
 Duck!
 Right, so, dogs. Though perhaps the ugliest and least intelligent animals in the universe, dogs are revered as protectors of this general temply area, hence the statues you can find of them here and there. I have even heard rumours that some people willingly keep dogs in their presence, even adopting them as pets, though I find this a little incredible.

 Guarding the first gate to Toudaiji. Stupid net kind of kills the shots, but what do you want.

 There are broad, long lanes between the gates. The masses of people make it a pretty fun walk. Feels like you're in the midst of doing something momentous.
 Right before the final gate.
 By the way, since Buddhist temples are made of wood, they have a tendency to burn down. That's why they have those gold things on the roof. Not to act as lightning rods or anything, but because the shape represents a fish's tail. And you know, fish live in water, which almost never catches fire, so.
 Pretty detailed, right? You can locate it in the photo above if you like.
 He's actually kind of intimidating!

 Close-up view of the guardian warriors' faces. It's a little macabre, actually.

And our history tour finishes with some modern convenience.

1 comment: