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This episode we are talking about the Four Great Temples--Asukadera, Daikandaiji (aka Kudara Odera), Kawaradera, and Yakushiji.  Much of the information, outside of the Nihon Shoki itself, comes from Donald F. McCallum's book:  "The Four Great Temples: Buddhist Archaeology, Architecture, and Icons of Seventh-Century Japan". For sources, photos, and more information, check out our blogpost at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-142 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 142: The Four Great Temples   Rising up into the sky, the bronze spire atop the pagoda seemed to touch the heavens.  The beams, doors, and railings were all painted bright red, with white walls, and green painted bars on the windows.  At each level, the eaves swept out, covered in dark ceramic tiles, with shining bronze plaques covering the ends of the roof beams.  At each corner, a bronze bell hung, chiming in the breeze.  This pattern continued upwards, tier after tier. Around the base of the pagoda, throngs of government officials dressed in their formal robes of office moved past, flowing through the temple's central gates.  As they passed, they looked up at the impressive tower, the largest of its kind in all of Yamato.  From somewhere, a deep bell chimed, and the crowds made their way towards the lecture hall.  There, the monks were prepared, with sutras and voices at the ready.  Facing a sacred image, they would read through their sutras in unison.  Their voices would carry through the great empty space and reverberate through the crowds—those that could get close enough to hear, anyway.  The chanting created a musical cacophony.     In that sea of human voices, one could almost sense something more—something spiritual.  A power, that one could almost believe could hold at bay just about any disaster that could befall a person—or even the state itself.   Alright, so this episode we are still in the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou.  I know we've already seen how that ends, but there is still a lot to cover. But before I go too far, I'd like to first give  a shout out to Lisa for helping to support the show on Ko-Fi.  I can't tell you how much we appreciate it.  If you would like to support us as well, we'll have more information at the end of this, and every episode. We've talked about how the reign of Ohoama was a time where the court reinforced, but also subtly adjusted, the laws of the Ritsuryo state.  They seem to have equally courted the Kami, Buddhism, and even continental ideas of yin and yang.  Today we are going to dive into Buddhism and the State.  More specifically, I want to talk about something called the Yondaiji, the Four Great Temples, and look at how these government temples, also known as "kanji" or "Tsukasa no dera" came to be, what we know about them from archaeological research, and the role they played in the State.  This is going to probably recap things from earlier episodes.  I am also drawing a lot from a book by Donald F. McCallum called, appropriately, "The Four Great Temples", which goes into a lot more detail than I'll be able to get into, here, but I recommend it for those who are really interested in this subject. Up to this point, we've talked a little about the relationship that the court had with Buddhism.  By the late 7th century, Buddhism had spread throughout the archipelago, and there were many temples likely created by local elites.  Sensoji, in Asakusa, Tokyo, claims a founding of 628, though it may have actually been founded sometime just after 645.  There are other temples around Japan, far from the Home Provinces, which likewise had similar claims to being founded in the early to late 7th century, and I question how much a role the government had in each of them. .  In 673, there were two temple-related mentions of note in the Chronicles.  In one of Ohoama's earliest edicts he orders the copying of the Issaiko, the Buddhist canon, at Kawaradera.   That same year, 673, Prince Mino and Ki no Omi no Katamaro—whom we discussed last episode—were sent to build Takechi temple, later known as Daikandaiji.  I mention Daikandaiji specifically because while it was originally built as the Temple of Takechi, at some point took on that other  name—"Daikandaiji", aka Ohotsukasa no Ohodera—which Aston translates as the "Great Temple of the Great Palace", as it appears to have specifically been designated as the great temple of the government. In other words, it is one of a few National Temples.  And this became particularly important in the year 680, which is the year we are told the government stopped administering—and, more importantly, stopped funding—all but a handful of so-called "national temples".  At this point, as I've mentioned, Buddhism was widespread enough that there were enough adherents that could maintain their own local temples. Of course, local elites likely found some cachet in funding temples, and communities of believers in various areas would likewise have been asked to provide funds as well. So the court accordingly declared that going forward, the government would only administer 2 or 3 national temples.  For all other temples, if tthey had been granted the proceeds of sustenance-fiefs, those would be limited, from the first year to the last, of 30 years in total.  As I read it, that indicates that if they had received the fiefs 15 years ago, they would be allowed to hold onto them for another 15 years, after which point they would need to find alternative sources of funding.  The early national temples appear to be Daikandaiji and Kawaradera.  Finally, there is Yakushiji, which Ohoama began construction on in 680 for his queen, Uno no Sarara, when she was ill—and just hold on to that for now.  Interestingly, Asukadera, or Houkouji, in many ways the original national temple, was not designated as such in the new reorganization, but it would continue to be administered by the government as a temple in a special arrangement. That's why the original count in the Nihon Shoki mentions "2 or 3" national temples instead of four.  These four temples are mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi, the Chronicles following the Nihon Shoki, as the Four Great Temples, or Yondaiji.  Although that work wasn't compiled and published until the end of the 8th century, the term Yondaiji appears in an entry for 702, about five years after the last entry in the Nihon Shoki, and over a decade before its publication So at this point we're going to look at each of these "great" temples individually, plus a couple of other important ones, and what they tell us about the history of Buddhism, Buddhist temples, and the Yamato state at this point in Ohoama's reign. The first of these four temples, chronologically, is Asukadera.  This is the temple originally built by the Soga, and the first major Buddhist temple built.  Its layout shows three separate golden image halls, or kondou.  And here we should probably recap something about the general layout of a Buddhist temple, so we can understand what we are talking about. The most important buildings in a Buddhist temple at this time were the kondou, the golden image halls; the pagoda, or stupa; and the koudou, or lecture hall.  The golden image halls held golden Buddhist images—Buddhas, Boddhisatvas, Arthats, and more.  These rooms are often somewhat dark, and would have been lit mainly by candles, as well as the sun coming through—though even then the sun often is obscured by overhanging rooves and latticework.  Sometimes the doors would have small openings so that the sun's rays strike in a particular way at different times.  All of this presents an image of bright gleaming gold in the darkness—a metaphor for the teachings of the Buddha, but also an intentionally awe inspiring display for those who came to view them and pray. The kondo were usually the first structures to be built for a temple, so if your temple had nothing else, it probably had an image hall. The next structure that one would probably build would be the stupa, or pagoda.  A pagoda was a tower, in which were sometimes kept images, but more importantly, it would often hold some kind of relic.  The idea of the stupa originated as a place to house relics—often bone fragments and teeth attributed to the Buddha, even if those were actually precious stones.  Stupas were originally (and still, in many places) large mounds, but as Buddhism made its way over the Silk Road, these were replaced with multi-tiered towers. Pagodas are often 3 or 5 storeys, though the number of stories can go up to 7 or 9 or as low as 1.    Once again, in a world where most buildings, other than perhaps a specially made lookout tower, were only one or maybe two stories in height, a three to five story pagoda must have been something to behold, especially covered with tiled eaves, adorned with bronze bells, and brightly painted in the continental fashion. In Europe I would point to similar uses of gold and ostentatious ornamentation on the cathedrals of the day, and even in churches more generally, if on a smaller scale.  This is meant to impress and thus lend authority to the institution.  And of course, because that institution was so closely aligned to the State, it gave the State authority as well.  We mentioned, previously, how the monumental structures of the kofun had given way to the Buddhist temples as a form of ritual display. The last of the three buildings I would mention is the lecture hall, or Koudou.  This would also likely have Buddhist images, but it was more of a functional hall for conducting rituals, including recitation of sutras and presenting Buddhist teachings.  The koudou was often at the back or north end of the temple complex.  In early Buddhist temple layouts, it was common to have everything in a straight line, more or less, and to remain symmetrical.  So there would be a main gate through which one would enter.  In front of you there you probably saw the pagoda.  Beyond the pagoda was a path, and then the kondou, or image hall, typically with a lantern in front, and behind that was the koudou, or lecture hall.  This was all typically oriented on a north-south axis, such that one would enter through the southern gate and walk north towards the lecture hall.  The north-south orientation is likely another feature from the continent, where the most important buildings were often south-facing, and thus in the north of the compound.  This was the same with the palace layout, and likely for similar reasons—not just cultural, but also practical.  After all, the sun, in the northern hemisphere, remains slightly to the south, and so this would have provided the most light through the day.   This layout was not strictly adhered to, however. For instance, if we look at Asukadera, you would enter through the southernmost gate and you were then met with another gate for an inner compound.  This middle gate would lead you to a large courtyard, about 320 meters on a side, with a covered walkway, or gallery, along the entire circumference of the compound.  Entering through the middle gate one would have first noticed the large pagoda and not one but three golden image halls.  A path led to the pagoda, and then beyond from the pagoda to the central kondou.  There is even a stone where a large bronze lantern was likely situated between the pagoda and the kondou.  Based on archaeological evidence, it appears that there was originally just one image hall, directly north of the pagoda, but at a later date, they added two more kondou to the east and west of the pagoda.  This has been compared to a temple layout found in Goguryeo, but given that these were likely later additions, and we know that Baekje artisans were involved, I suspect that is just later coincidence. Connecting the layout of the temples to continental examples has been a keen area of study for many scholars.  The general theory is that temple layouts can help point to whether there was more of a Baekje, Silla, or Goguryeo influence during the construction of the temple, and what that might have meant for Yamato's international relations as well as various political factions in the court who may have leaned more towards one group or another. The last building at Asukadera, the koudou, or lecture hall, was directly north of the kondou, but you couldn't get there directly.  The entire pagoda and image hall compound was separate from the lecture hall, which stood north and apart, though still on the temple grounds, which would have been surrounded by an outer wall.   At this point, since we're talking about the layout of Asukadera and where it came from, I'm going to digress from the next of the four great temples and talk about two other early temples that are important for understanding Buddhist temple building at this time. So bear with me for this slight detour. The first of these is Shitennoji, the Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings, in modern Osaka.  This temple is said to have been built in 593, and is attributed to Shotoku Taishi.  Presumably he made a vow to do so during the war between the Soga and the Mononobe, which we discussed back in episode 91.  As you may recall from that and earlier episodes, the Mononobe were considered to be against the idea of Buddhism, while the Soga were promoting it.  Shitennouji was important, but doesn't show up in the Chronicles as much as other temples, and was all the way over in Naniwa.  As such, I suspect that it was not considered a good candidate for "national" temple status at the time.  Still, if we look at the original layout, Shitennoji is quite similar to what we see in Asukadera.  Everything is on a north-south axis.  You go through a middle gate to the inner compound.  There you find a pagoda, and past that, a lantern and then the kondou.  Unlike Asukadera, the koudou, or lecture hall, is incorporated into the back wall, such that the gallery continues from the middle gate around to either side, and then meets at the sides of the lecture hall.  There are also east and west gates, as well as other buildings, but the main layout is pretty comparable. The second is another temple, which also lays claim to being founded by Prince Shotoku Taishi, and which was not included in the four great temples.  This may have had to do with the fact that it wasn't in the Asuka valley, but also may have had to do with just the timing.  That temple is the famous one known as Horyuji.  Horyuji was founded on the site of the Ikaruga palace, said to have been the home of none other than Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi.  As such, one imagines it was quite the prominent temple in its day.  However, it was at a distance from the capital, and it also had the misfortune to have burned down in about 670, just before Ohoama ascended the throne, and it wasn't fully rebuilt until about 711, leaving a forty year gap where the temple was not necessarily at the forefront of Buddhism. Still, like Shitennoji, it is interesting to look at the original layout for Horyuji and compare it to Asukadera.  First off, you have the same north-south orientation, and you have the same separate, internal compound for the image hall and the pagoda.  Unlike in Asukadera, however, the kondou and the pagoda, which both faced south, were on an east-west axis, flanking the central pathway.  Entering through the middle gate one would have seen a five storey pagoda on the left and the kondo on the right.  The Koudou was outside the inner compound in the rear, along that central north-south axis.  There is also evidence of two other buildings.  One likely held a large bell—and possibly a drum—and the other was likely a sutra repository, where they could keep holy texts and various ritual implements. I will also note that, even though Horyuji burned down in 670 and was accordingly not that prominent during Ohoama's reign, it is absolutely worth visiting because substantial portions of those rebuilt buildings are still standing today. Indeed, both the Horyuji pagoda and kondou are among the oldest wooden buildings in the world. The central pillar of the pagoda was felled in 594 according to dendrochronological dating. The kondou was damaged by fire during a restoration in 1949, but about 15-20% of the original building from 670 still remains.  Going back to the Great Temples, the next of these to be built was Kudara Ohodera.  Kudara here means "Baekje", but this appears to refer more to the temple's location near the Kudara river, rather than to the kingdom of Baekje.  Kudara Ohodera is remarkable in a couple of different ways.  First off, there is the fact that it is the first temple with a firm royal lineage—that is to say a temple that claims to have been founded by the sovereign.  Asukadera was founded by Soga no Umako, the Prime Minister, and though Prince Umayado is said to have been the Crown Prince, nonetheless, he never reigned as sovereign, though he was considered the founder of both Shitenouji and Houryuuji.  Kudara Ohodera, however, is said to have been founded at the behest of Tamura, aka Jomei Tennou, who reigned from 629-641.  The temple appears to get its start in a record dated to 639, and by 645 it appears to be fully operational. There is another tale of its founding—in the Daianji Engi, the history of Daianji, a successor temple to Kudara Ohodera, there is mention of a Kumagori Dojo, and many modern histories claim that this was the actual first temple, but there isn't much evidence.  Donald McCallum, in his treatment of Kudara Ohodera's history in his book, "The Four Great Temples", suggests that the Kumagori Dojo story is likely a later legendary founding that got recorded, as there is scant evidence for it, and no mention of it in other records.  On the actual founding of Kudara Ohodera, however, there does appear to be general agreement with the Nihon Shoki, despite some minor differences in the dates. The call to build Kudara Ohodera comes alongside Tamura's also building Kudara Palace.  Kudara Ohodera was also built on a grand scale, and it is said to have had a nine-storey pagoda—almost double the size of a five-storey pagoda, which already towered over other buildings of the time. Despite all of this, for a long time it was unclear where Kudara Ohodera was actually situated.  There were several sites proposed, but most recently archaeological research on Kibi Pond seems to have placed the temple there.  At excavations on the southern side of the pond were found remnants of the foundations of two buildings, arranged in an east-west format.  The western foundation would appear to be for a pagoda—but one much larger than any of the five storey pagodas we've seen elsewhere.  And to the east was the foundation for what appears to be the kondo.  This golden image hall, however, is likewise much larger than any other hall of this time.  This arrangement would fit very well with a Houryuuji-like temple layout.  There were also various other traces that were consistent with the early mid-7th century, which would coincide with the 639-645 dates for Kudara Ohodera's construction.  Subsequent excavations appear to have found quarters for the priests, as well as at least part of a gallery wall and one gate, situated due south of the kondo.  There may have been another gate south of the pagoda.  The koudou, the lecture hall, may have been in the area that was later excavated to create the pond, and therefore we may never have any hard evidence of its location, despite numerous attempts to dig trenches to find more of the temple buildings.  This probably also means that, similar to Shitennouji, the lecture hall  was incorporated into the enclosing gallery wall rather than being outside, because if it was outside, then it likely would have been farther north and we would probably have seen some trace.  As it is, the lack of any trace suggests that it was inside or part of the enclosure with the pagoda and kondou. The large size of this archeological site concurs with what we know about Kudara Ohodera, both in its description and in the fact that it is referred to as "Ohodera", or "Great Temple"—no other temple has really been given that name directly, though there are a few references to "Ohodera"  that are ambiguous and might refer either to this temple or Asukadera..  Still, if this temple, sometimes also called Kibi Pond Temple due to its location, is *not* Kudara Ohodera then that just brings up more questions.  How could there have been such a monumental Buddhist temple this close to Asuka and within the bounds of the later Fujiwara-kyo and yet nobody thinks to mention it?  It doesn't appear to have been started and abandoned, as there were quite a few structures built.  So if this isn't Kudara Temple then someone has some 'splaining to do. Indeed, McCallum notes that while there are some objections, the preponderance of evidence seems to lean greatly in favor of the Kibi Pond site for Kudara Ohodera.  We still have yet to find the Kudara palace, however, so who knows.  There are also questions about the construction as various architectural features are missing in ways that are not consistent with other sites. Some oddities, such as a seeming lack of rooftiles given the apparent size of the building, actually may be a point in favor of this being Kudara Ohodera, since we know that the temple was moved in 673 when Ohoama requested that they build the Takechi Ohodera, which appears to have been Kudara's successor temple.  If they had reused the material from Kudara Ohodera to build, at least in part, Takechi Ohodera, that could explain why rooftiles and other such things are not present in the numbers expected at the Kibi Pond site. Takechi Ohodera is another bit of a mystery.  I can't help but note that Takechi is the name given Ohoama's son who was with him on the front lines of the Jinshin no Ran.  We also see a "Takechi no Agata-nushi", who is noted as the governor of the district of Takechi.  In all cases here it is spelled "Taka-ichi", or "high market", and it is not an uncommon name—we even find a Miwa no Kimi no Takechimaro.  In the record of the Jinshin no Ran it is noted that the governor of Takechi was possessed by the kami of Takechi and of Musa.  These were named as Kotoshironushi and Ikuikazuchi.  They claimed that they had been the kami that escorted Ohoama to Fuwa and saw him safely there.  As such, donations were made to their shrines.  Musa is an area in modern Takaichi district, which includes the area of Asuka, and is part of Kashihara city.  The Takaichi Agata Jinja—or the Takechi District Shrine—sits in the Shijo area of Kashihara city, north of Mt. Unebi. There are several proposed locations for Takechi Ohodera, but despite excavations, no clear temple features have been found.  As such, there isn't anything to clearly point to one or the other. What we do know is that Takechi Ohodera underwent another transformation.  According to the Daianji Engi, the Takechi Ohodera was renamed to Daikandaiji in 677.  There is no specific mention of this in the Nihon Shoki, other than a note that Takechi Ohodera was also known as Daikandaiji and a reference, in 679, of "fixing the names".  Personally, I can't help but wonder if this is a case of a nickname becoming the name-in-fact.  As I mentioned earlier in the episode, Daikandaijij, which can also be read as "Oho-tsukasa no Oho-tera" can be translated into something like Great Government Official Great Temple or Great Temple of the Royal Court.  We do know the location of this temple in later years, but this is probably not exactly where Takechi Ohodera was originally built. For one thing, it is suspicious that the temple lines up exactly with the later grid for Fujiwara-kyo, the later capital city that was built north of Asuka.  We also are told by the Daianji Engi that a nine storey pagoda and kondou were built between 697 and 707 CE.  There are also notes about activities at the temple mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi for the same period.  And yet there were also activities being held during that time which would not seem feasible if they were renovating in place.  So likely the new construction was at a new site—possibly near the old site.  And at this later site, the rooftiles were from a later period, closer to the period of the later construction and not really matching with earlier construction dates. So what did this temple of many names – Kudara Ohodera, then Takechi Ohodera, then Daikandaiji – actually look like?  We probably have a layout for the original temple and the later temple.  If Kibi Pond Temple is the original Kudara Ohodera, the original temple had the kondou and the pagoda on the same east-west axis, and likely had the koudou north of that – very Horyuji-like.  But based on the layout at the later temple site, we have something quite different.  From the central gate, there is a path straight towards the Kondou, with the Koudou directly north of that, and the nine-storey pagoda in an odd, off-set position, southeast of the kondou.  This disrupts the symmetry even more than the Kudara Ohodera layout.  There is some speculation that this asymmetry was temporary and that they planned to fill the other space but just never got around to it, but there is no indication that they had prepared for anything, either.  Also odd is the fact that the koudou, the lecture hall, was the same size as the image hall, the kondou, and that was roughly the same size as the enormous hall at Toudaiji, which is really saying something.  This really was a tremendous building, fitting for the main temple of the royal government. The third of the four great temples is Kawaradera, and this one is challenging to plot out chronologically as there isn't a lot of documentation.  There is no exact date for the building of Kawaradera.  There is a mention of it in 653, but the same entry in the Nihon Shoki also states that there are sources that claim it should be Yamadadera, instead.  Based on other evidence, this actually seems more likely.  Yamadadera is thought to have been the work of Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro, and it is where he eventually fled when accused of treason.  It was founded in 641, according to the Joguki, the record of Prince Shotoku, but construction didn't actually start until2 years later, and monks only began to occupy it in 648.  The following year, however, construction halted as that is when Ishikawa no Maro fled there and committed suicide.  Construction was resumed in 663, but still took time.  Still, even in the middle of this very long DIY project, it makes sense that there might be some activities in 653, even if construction was paused.   Later the temple would be completed, and seems to have had powerful backing.  Uno no Sarara, Ohoama's queen, was a granddaughter of Ishikawa no Maro, and so likely had a connection to the temple, but it never attained the status of a national temple the way the others had.  As far as its layout—it was similar to Shitennouji, with the pagoda, kondo, and koudou all in a line on the north-south axis. Kawaradera was another matter.  Though we aren't sure when it was built, exactly.  If we discount the 653 date as applying to Yamadadera instead, then the first date we really see anything at Kawara is Kawara Palace, built for Takara Hime—aka Saimei Tennou—who took up residence there when the Itabuki Palace burned.  Later it would be used for her mogari—her temporary interment.  The next mention of a temple at Kawara isn't until this reign, in 673, when Ohoama had the Buddhist canon, the Issaiko, copied, as I noted at the top of the episode.  So it must have been established and built some time before 673. Although we don't know when it was founded, we very clearly know where it was, as the foundations stones are still present, and quite clear—and unlike other Asuka era temples, it would stay in Asuka, rather than being removed up to the new capital at Heijo-kyo. Given everything else and its apparent importance, the lack of information on when Kawaradera was established is quite odd.  McCallum suggests that this could have been deliberate as a way to help delegitimize the temple in the 8th century, but also admits that it may have just been due to the general problems with early record keeping back in the day and there may not have been a good record of why and when the temple was founded.  The rooftiles are similar to those used during the time that the court was at Ohotsu.  I would also note that there is a connection between the foundation stones and a quarry up near Ohotsu at what is, today, Ishiyamadera.  That still doesn't tell us when Kawaradera was founded, as that could have been any time, and doesn't necessarily mean that it was during the time the court was in Ohotsu. Regardless of what textual evidence does or does not exist, the archaeological evidence is pretty staggering.  Even today you can go and see some of the exposed foundation stones.  This was a massive temple.  There was a south gate and then a middle gate just north of that.  The main enclosure was divided into two courtyards.  In the first, just beyond the middle gate, at the north end was the middle kondo, while in the courtyard itself, facing each other on an east-west axis, was a western kondou and the temple pagoda.  Past the middle kondou was a larger courtyard, with the koudou, or lecture hall, in the north, with a bell tower or sutra hall in the south west and southeast corners.  The walls of the enclosure were made up of a covered gallery, and around the outside of the northern courtyard, containing the koudou, were smaller chambers believed to be the monks quarters, something we don't necessarily see at all of the other sites. Despite being an important temple, and one of the Four Great Temples during the Asuka periods, when the capital eventually moved to Heijo-kyo, in modern Nara, Kawaradera had the distinction of being the only one of the four that was not moved as well. All three of the other Great Temples had new compounds built in Heijo-kyo, and the temples were thus "transferred" to the new capital.  Presumably that means that most of the monks and administration moved there, and those new temples took up the roles, duties, and responsibilities of the old temples.  The temple complexes in Asuka were not necessarily destroyed or deconstructed, but instead were apparently left to their own devices, becoming reduced in status.  Many of them fell into disrepair, and when disasters, such as fire, struck they were not rebuilt to the same extent as before, if at all.   Kawaradera, however, appears to have not been transferred.  It would eventually be replaced as one of the Four Great Temples by the temple of Koufukuji, which was specifically a temple for the Fujiwara family, who were having a bit of a moment in the Nara period.  Some have speculated that Kawaradera was specifically left behind in Asuka for that reason—so that the Fujiwara family temple could sneak into the ranks of national temples.  Or it may have been that Kawaradera had a particular connection to Takara Hime and the site of her interment.  If it was a memorial temple to her, then perhaps it didn't seem appropriate to remove it from its physical location.  McCallum also suggests that it was so powerful in its position in Asuka that it preferred to stay and keep its stipend-fiefs, perhaps believing that even the move to Heijo-kyo would be just another short fad, as had been Ohotsu and Fujiwara-kyo.  Of course, if so, they were sorely mistaken. And so Kawaradera would eventually fade from the picture, but during the time of Ohoama's reign, and into that of his immediate successors, it seems that it certainly held some sway. The fourth of the Four Great Temples was the temple of Yakushiji—the temple of the Medicine Buddha.  This is the latest temple of the bunch.  Its construction was ordered in the year 680 in response to Ohoama's queen, Uno no Sarara, falling ill.  And so he vowed to build a temple for her—specifically a temple to Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha, whom we discussed last episode.  That said, there is considerable time between the order to construct a temple and getting enough of it built to actually be functional.  I haven't really touched on this, except when I briefly discussed Yamadadera and how long that took to build, but all of these temples were massive works, much more complicated than the traditional palace buildings.  For the most part, palace architecture could be built relatively quickly with the tools and labor available.  This was a good thing, seeing as how, for many years, the sovereign had moved again and again, either because of the previous sovereign's death in the palace or just because they chose a new location for a palace.  As such, one couldn't spend years building a new palace.  So palace buildings were simply made with wooden posts, sunk into the ground, with thatched roofs.  In a few examples we see attempts to use wooden boards or tiles, but they weren't complicated. A temple, on the other hand, was something different.  Temples were largely wood, but they were massive in size and their roofs were covered in heavy ceramic tiles.  All of that weight had to be properly distributed on a strong base—simple posts were not likely to work.  Instead they were built on raised stone foundations.  That's great for us looking at them, today, but at the time it would have been an inordinate amount of labor.  Hence why a temple like Yamadadera took so long to build. So Yakushiji may have been founded in 680, but was likely not finished until much later, which is why we don't really see it in the records for Ohoama's reign and why the order for national temples probably only states that there were just two or three.  However, it would become one of the four great temples, and is also notable because, in its transfer to Heijokyo, it largely retained its shape and layout, meaning that you can go to it, today, and still get some sense of what it may have been like back in the Asuka period.  Granted, there are certainly differences, but there are enough similarities that it is likely worth a visit.  Many of the other temples were significantly modified when they were rebuilt in the new capital in Nara.  The layout for Yakushiji is a basic rectangular layout.  North of the central gate there is not one, but two pagodas, on an east-west axis from each other, flanking the path to the kondo, roughly in the center.  Finally the koudou at the north end, built into the roofed gallery.  The modern Yakushiji, a UNESCO world heritage site, maintains one of the pagodas from 730.  Other buildings have been lost and rebuilt over the years.  Today, the covered gallery only goes around half of the compound.  This temple would be important, but mostly in the period following the current reign. This period of the four Great Temples perhaps gives us some insight into the relationship between Buddhism and the State.  Early on, Buddhism was the province largely of the Soga family, and Soga no Umako was apparently the most powerful figure of his day.  He founded Asukadera, and early temples weree founded by Soga or their associates, including Prince Umayado.  McCallum points out that the National Temples, however, were, with one exception, founded by sovereigns.  Kudara Ohodera was the first, Kawaradera was likely founded for Takara Hime, and Yakushiji was founded for Queen Uno.  The only one of the four that wasn't expressly founded on a sovereign's order was that of Asukadera, the temple by Soga no Umako.  This may explain why it was both included and excluded as a national temple in the Chronicles.  After all, there is no doubting its importance, but the narrative of a single, strong, royal house is somewhat impeded by the idea that one of those temples was founded by what was, for all of his power and authority, a private individual.  Ultimately they didn't include it in the edict and yet still acknowledged it as one of the Great Temples. McCallum also points out that these four may not have been fixed quite so early on.  For example, on the matter of Houryuuji—there is a bronze plaque that mentions an "Ikaruga no Ohodera", suggesting that the Ikaruga Temple—that is to say Houryuuji, founded on the estates of Prince Umayado—was at one time granted that title.  Of course, there are questions as to the exact date of the inscription, and whether or not they meant "Ohodera" in the later sense of a national temple or simply in the sense that it was large; and the term may have meant something else, earlier on. The roster of official temples, the Tsukasa no Tera or Kanji, would grow over time, but that is something for a later period.  It is worth noting, though, that the Chronicles at this point seem to distinguish between three types or levels of temples at this time, based on other edicts that we see.  There is also the matter of temple names. The first edict is from the 5th day of the 4th lunar month of 679, six years into Ohoama's reign.  The declaration states that the court would consider the history of any temple with sustenance fiefs and add or remove them as appropriate.  This suggests that there were temples with sustenance fiefs—that is, that had stipends based on lands whose official output went to their upkeep—and temples without such fiefs.  The latter were likely more local temples, likely funded by local elites, possibly out of actual devotion, or an attempt to gain the power that Buddhism presumably brought, or possibly just in emulation of the central court, much as the peripheral elites had also constructed the keyhole shaped kofun.  Along with the adjustments of stipends, we are also told that the administration quote-unquote "fixed" the names of the temples. This again goes to the government's control of the temples and Buddhism.  McCallum suggests that what is meant here is that they moved away from locative names to Buddhist names for the temple; up to this point, temple names appear to be about the location of the temple.  So we have Asuka dera, or Asuka Temple, built in Asuka.  Kudara Ohodera is Kudara Great Temple because it was by the Kudara river and the Kudara palace.  When it was moved to Takechi, they changed the name to Takechi temple.  Kawaradera was at Kawara, while the temple we know as Houryuuji was known at the time as Ikaruga Temple—or possibly Ikaruga Great Temple.  But later these temples would be known by their Buddhist names, so Asukadera is Houkouji.  Kudara Ohodera becomes Daikandaiji—and in fact, it is after this point that we see Daikandaiji in the narrative.  Ikaruga dera—though not one of the yondaiji, or four Great Temples—becomes Horyuuji.  I'm not quite so sure about Kawaradera, but Yakushiji, which is founded after this decree, comes to us with a Buddhist name rather than just the name of a location. This change in name likely simplified, somewhat, the concept of moving, or transferring the temples.  Rather than establishing a brand new temple with new administration and everything, they could build a new temple, but grant it the name and rights of the old temple.  The old temple grounds could still be used and occupied—it was still *a* temple, but it was no longer *the* temple, at least for official purposes.  It would be strange, however, to move the Asuka Temple up to the area of modern Nara city and still call it the Asuka Temple. The year after reassessing the stipends and fixing the names of the temples we get the edict about the 2 or 3 national temples.  And we've mostly discussed that, but here I would just point out that it does add a third distinction to the types of temples.  So we have temples with no stipends, temples with stipends—but they would only last for 30 years total after which they were expected to find new sources of funding—and the national temples, which would presumably receive funding through the government in perpetuity—or until the court changed its mind. So why do we care about any of this?  Obviously Buddhism has had a huge impact on Japanese culture.  However, this isn't just about the religion as an idea, but about the institutions.  These temples—especially these great temples—contained a fair amount of wealth.   It wasn't just the golden images, or the elaborate amount of work and materials that went into the creation of the buildings.  There was also the sustenance-fiefs that were paying for the upkeep.  These temples were also being managed by formal government administrators.  They also performed rituals that the court relied on.  Association with these temples was no doubt important.  Later we see princes and other members of high status families taking high ranking positions, and the temples ended up cultivating their own power.  Over time, the power of various Buddhist institutions would grow,  often challenging or even rivaling the power of the court itself. There are a few other items from this reign that we see related to these temples and Buddhism, more generally.  In 677 we see a Buddhist festival at Asukadera, where the entire canon was apparently reda out.  The sovereign himself showed up and did obeisance to the Three Precious Things—an interesting bit of religious piety and humility.   At the same time, he had all of the Princes and Ministers find one person each to renounce the world and become a monk or nun—both men and women were chosen, without apparent distinction.  We are also assured that they all did so of their own volition, and weren't forced.  In 679, we see a regulation on the clothing of priests and nuns, as well as the men and horses who  accompanied them when they traveled.  If priests are going around with a full on noble retinue, well, that probably says something about the status of priests—at least the abbots and heads of these institutions. 680 – A fire breaks out at the nunnery at Tachibana temple.  Tachibanadera is situated south of Kawaradera, and similar to that temple, it seems to have previously been the site of a royal palace and also isn't recorded as being founded in the Nihon Shoki—it appears fully formed in this record.  Tachibanadera's own records seem to suggest that it was founded in 606, and claims a founding by Shotoku Taishi.  It is also said to be the site of the palace where Shotoku Taishi was born to his mother, Princess Anahobe no Hashibito, consort of Tachibana no Toyohi, aka Yomei Tennou.  Shotoku Taishi is also the subject of the primary image of Tachibana temple, today.  Although Tachibanadera wasn't one of the Four Great Temples, it was likely connected to one—Kawaradera.  Not only was it built on the same north-south axis as Kawaradera, but some of the tiles are similar to Kawaradera's founding tiles.  The layout was similar to Yamada-dera or Shitennouji, with the pagoda, kondou, and kooudou, all in a single north-south orientation.  It is possible that Kawaradera was a monastery for male monks while Tachibanadera may have been the complementary nunnery for female initiates.  680 had a lot going on.  In the 10th lunar month, the sovereign handed out alms to monks and nuns—silk and cloth.  A month later, Ohoama vowed Yakushiji in hopes that it would help his wife, Queen Uno, who was unwell.  He also granted a general amnesty, likely to just add further merit.  Apparently it was successful, as she would go on to live for quite some time after that, even helping to take the reins of government when Ohoama himself fell ill. In 682, Princess Hidaka fell ill.  190 people, both men and women, were pardoned for capital or lesser crimes, in an attempt to make merit, and the following day we are told that over 140 people renounced the world at Daikandaiji—likely on the Princess's behalf. The year after that, 683, we see the sovereign making appointments to the official buddhist offices of Soujou, Soudzu, and Risshi—Doctors of the Law.  This was probably a somewhat regular occurrence, though this is the first time we see the Risshi, it seems.  The mention here is apparently due to the admonition given that "Those who control the monks and nuns should act according to the law."  Definitely seems to be something there—perhaps a reason as to why the Soujou and Soudzu were being appointed.  But the Nihon Shoki doesn't give us a lot more to go on other than speculation. Later that same year, in the 7th lunar month, we see priests and nuns gathered at the palace for the first ever ango, or retreat.  An ango is where priests and nuns of different temples are brought together.  The term refers to a practice said to come from the time of Shakyamuni, before there were temples.  Shakyamuni's acolytes, who spent much of the year wandering, would return to one place during the rainy season. At that time they would listen and discuss Shakyamuni's teachings.  In some sects, this practice of coming together would be particularly important, and it was a mark of honor for how many retreats a monk might have attended over the years. In 685, the court promoted Buddhism with an edict requiring every household to maintain a Buddhist altar, with a statue of the Buddha and a copy of a sutra inside.  It is unclear to me if this was just for merit-making or what, but it must have been somewhat lucrative for the various temples, who would have likely been the source for said sutras, and, at least peripherally, the statues as well.  Later that year, in the 4th lunar month, there was another ango at the palace.  The month after that, Ohoama went to Asukadera and presented precious objects and worshipped.  In the 8th lunar month Ohoama went to Joudouji – Aston claims this is Asukadera, also known as Houkouji—and the next day he visited Kawaradera and provided rice to the monks there.  One month after that, Ohoama was feeling ill, so the court ordered Daikandaiji, Kawaradera, and Asukadera—the three Great Temples that were fully operational at that point—to chant sutras for his sake.  In return they were granted various quantities of rice. Ohoama recovered for a time, but it was perhaps a precursor of what was to come.  A month later a monk from Baekje and a lay monk were sent out to seek a medicinal herb known as white okera.  Today, a similar compound is known in Chinese traditional medicine as Bái Zhú.  A few months later Ohoama went to the medicinal herb garden of Shiranishiki, and a few weeks later he was presented with Bai Zhu, the boiled white okera.   That same day, ritualists performed the Chikonsai, the "Calling of the Spirit".  All of this seems to indicate the early onset of symptoms that may have been temporarily abated, but likely were part of the disease or illness that would eventually take his life. But we covered most of that last episode, and we are already dragging on longer than I expected, so I think I'm going to end it here.  Coming up in the narrative, since I started to mention it, I'll probably take a look next at the founding of the new capital of Fujiwara kyo, and what that would mean, along with other initiatives that would outlive Ohoama. Until then if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

This week: outside of big urban riots, how did violence figure into the daily life of the Edo period? To answer this question, we'll take a look at one particularly well-documented example: youth gangs in the area surrounding Sensoji in the shogun's capital of Edo. Show notes here.  

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Misadventures at Sensoji: Statues Aren't Trash Cans Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/misadventures-at-sensoji-statues-arent-trash-cans Story Transcript:Ja: 東京の浅草寺はとても賑やかでした。En: Sensoji Temple in Tokyo was very lively.Ja: 観光客がたくさん訪れて写真を撮ったり、お祈りしたりしていました。En: Many tourists visited, taking pictures and praying.Ja: その中に、二人の友達がいました。ハルキとサクラです。En: Among them were two friends, Haruki and Sakura.Ja: 朝の十時、ハルキとサクラは浅草寺にやって来ました。En: At ten in the morning, Haruki and Sakura arrived at Sensoji Temple.Ja: ハルキはアイスクリームを食べていました。En: Haruki was eating ice cream.Ja: そして、食べ終わった後、ハルキはゴミを捨てようとしました。En: After finishing it, he looked for a place to throw away the trash.Ja: 「ゴミ箱はどこだろう？」ハルキは周りを見渡しました。En: “Where's the trash can?” Haruki looked around.Ja: すると、彼は一つの美しい仏像を見つけました。En: He then spotted a beautiful statue.Ja: 「これ、多分ゴミ箱だ。」ハルキはそう思いました。En: “This is probably a trash can,” he thought.Ja: 彼は仏像の後ろに回り、アイスクリームの包装紙を捨てようとしました。En: He walked behind the statue, intending to dispose of the ice cream wrapper.Ja: その瞬間、サクラは大きな声で叫びました。「ハルキー！　それはゴミ箱じゃないよ！仏像だよ！やめて！」En: At that moment, Sakura shouted loudly, “Haruki! That's not a trash can! It's a statue! Stop!”Ja: 観光客たちは驚いて二人を見ました。En: The tourists were startled and looked at the two of them.Ja: ハルキはびっくりして手を止めました。En: Haruki was shocked and stopped his hand.Ja: 「えっ、本当に？ごめん！」と彼は言いました。En: “Really? I'm sorry!” he said.Ja: サクラは大急ぎでハルキの手から包装紙を取りました。そして、深くお辞儀をして周りの人たちに謝りました。En: Sakura quickly took the wrapper from Haruki's hand and deeply bowed to apologize to the people around them.Ja: 「すみません、彼は間違えていました！」En: “I'm sorry, he made a mistake!”Ja: 観光客たちは最初、びっくりしていましたが、やがて笑顔になりました。En: The tourists were initially surprised, but eventually, they smiled.Ja: 「大丈夫、大丈夫」と一人の観光客が言いました。En: “It's okay, it's okay,” said one of the tourists.Ja: 「面白かったよ。」En: “It was funny.”Ja: ハルキも顔を赤くしながら、「もう間違えないようにするよ。ありがとう、サクラ。」と言いました。En: Haruki, with a red face, said, “I won't make that mistake again. Thanks, Sakura.”Ja: サクラは微笑んで、「気をつけてね、ハルキ。」と言いました。En: Sakura smiled and said, “Be careful, Haruki.”Ja: その後、二人は本当のゴミ箱を見つけて、アイスの包装紙を捨てました。En: After that, they found the real trash can and threw away the ice cream wrapper.Ja: 浅草寺を歩きながら、二人はもっとたくさんの美しい風景を楽しみました。En: As they walked around Sensoji Temple, they enjoyed many more beautiful sights.Ja: その日、ハルキは大切なことを学びました。仏像とゴミ箱を間違えないこと、大事ですよね。En: That day, Haruki learned an important lesson: not to mistake a statue for a trash can.Ja: サクラも友達を助けることの大切さを再確認しました。En: And Sakura reaffirmed the importance of helping a friend.Ja: 浅草寺の旅は、二人にとって忘れられない思い出になりました。En: Their trip to Sensoji Temple became an unforgettable memory for the two of them.Ja: 終わり。En: The end. Vocabulary Words:En: Jalively: 賑やかvisited: 訪れたpraying: お祈りspotted: 見つけましたstatue: 仏像intend: つもりwrapper: 包装紙shouted: 叫びましたstartled: 驚いてshocked: びっくりしてapologize: 謝るinitially: 最初reaffirmed: 再確認importance: 大切さmemorable: 忘れられないtrip: 旅sight: 風景important: 大切mistake: 間違えhelping: 助けるdispose: 捨てるdearly: 大切にeventually: やがてquickly: 大急ぎでstatue: 仏像gesture: 動作wrapped: 包むconversation: 会話sincere: 誠実

On today's episode we compare the manga to the anime, specifically some key scenes set before the final chapters. As well as share some facts on the setting of Death Note and compare them to the real-world place they are based on. Skip synopsis @ 4:01   Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com   098: Death Note vol. 11 ⁓ Kindred Spirits Story by Tsugumi Ohba Art by Takeshi Obata Translation by Tetsuichiro Miyaki Lettering by Gia Cam Luc   With the battle now set to end in Japan, Near organises a face-to-face meeting with Light and vows to have proof on Kira's identity. In doing so he will avenge the Death of his predecessor, L. Plot twist, Light is Kira! But chances are you already knew that!   Before a date is set by Near, he must first determine who could be a Kira proxy, whom he titles as X-Kira. Making a time line of events and scanning multiple video records he suspects Teru Mikami. But only when Near's team discover that he has a Death Note do they respond, first they determine where ever or not a god of death is following Mikami, that way they can safely copy and or tamper with the Death Note without being noticed. Takada and Misa have dinner together only to fight over their love for Light Yagami. Afterwards Near decides to capture and detain Misa, knowing that she was once a proxy for Kira, Misa having no memories of the Death Note agrees to de detained following a belief that Light wants to capture Kira and a willingness to cut any plans made with Takada.   Near contacts Light, and establishes that they will meet in the yellow box warehouse within Daikoku Wharf on January 28th 1p.m. Light meets Takada so to inform Mikami on the location of the final confrontation between Kira and Near. The question still stands, if Kira can kill Near and his agents then what will be the fate of Near's rival and the second successor to L? Mello himself not being one to stick to the shadows for too long comes out and abducts Takada.   What will Kira's next move be?     Fun Facts:   Tetsuro Araki directed the anime to Death Note, having worked on the first episode he helped establish the tone of the series alongside the series musician/composer Hideki Taniuchi and Yoshihisa Hirano. It was Masato Bessho who directed and storyboarded the infamous “potato chip scene”   Real World Settings of Death Note:   Daikoku Wharf, or Daikoku Pier is known as 大黒埠頭, Daikokufutō, located around the port of Yokohama. Light studied at To-oh University, which is possibly analogous to the real-life Tokyo University, a notable clue being that they share the nickname Todai, short for Tokyo Daigaku University and the place is referenced using the nickname Todai. Not to be confused with the real-life Toho University, which has a similar sounding name. The hotel that Light and Takada have their meetings in is Teito Hotel, possibly named after a real hotel, previously known as Hotel Teito it was then merged with and is known as the Imperial Hotel. Located in Marunouchi nearby the Imperial Palace. Episode 12 of ‘I love Lucy' was set in this hotel. The anime adaptation uses this hotel's exterior as the model however in the Death Note manga the hotel maybe based more so on the Prince Park Hotel and/or the Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier. This is because outside the window of Light and Takada's room we can see a noteworthy view of the Tokyo Tower, at the very least, the interior maybe based on the latter. The Tokyo Tower is certainly one of one of Tokyo's most iconic landmarks alongside the Sensoji temple and the Hachiko statue, especially since many pictures show it beside the landmark that is Mt. Fuji. It also makes an appearance in the 2006 Death Note movie, ‘The Last Name', the final shot of the movie is outside Misa's window, where we can see Ryuk flying around the Tokyo Tower. The New York headquarters of the SPK is located near Nick. St. Station however most inner-city streets in New York favour numbers and not names for their streets. LAX is a real place, an abbreviation of Los Angeles International Airport. NHN is based on NHK, short for ‘Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai' or ‘Japanese Broadcasting Corporation' in English. It is similar to the BBC in England. Sakura TV is not based on any TV station. In the 2006 movie, the exterior is depicted as an outdoor food court with a giant TV screen assembled with multiple monitors. For further reading on locations more so specific to the anime you can check this tourism blog and this similar tourism page Facebook Instagram Twitter Official Website   Email

In tonight's bedtime story, you work as an attendant in an enchanted bathhouse – one frequented by essential nature spirits. While waiting for the doors to open at sundown, you help prepare the bathhouse for customers. You encounter many marvelous spirits throughout the night. After the last guest has left, you draw yourself a bath and soak away all your troubles as the sun rises. Then, exhausted from the night's work, you return to your chamber to sleep the day away. Sleep & Sorcery is a folklore and fantasy-inspired sleep series. Step across the threshold into a world of myth and magic, where you can safely drift off into a deep and comfortable sleep. Sleep & Sorcery is one part bedtime story, one part guided meditation, and one part dreamy adventure. Tonight's key ingredients: Studio Ghibli-inspired Wind sounds Body scan/breathing exercise Music/Sound: A Glimpse of Avalon by Flouw, Sensoji by Christian Andersen from Epidemic Sound Instagram | Twitter | Insight Timer | YouTube --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sleep-sorcery/support

Mis Nakamas! En este episosio del Podcast nos adentramos a conocer el Templo más famoso de japón, "El Templo de Sensoji". Un lugar inevitable para todo turista que debe conocer cuando visite Japón. Espero sea de su ayuda el contribuir a que tu viaje sea más cultural.  Les dejamos el link para ver el video en el canal.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy9W8ZV3hY8 Recuerda suscribirte :). 

Kinryuzan Sensoji Temple, located in Asakusa, Tokyo is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan. Dedicated to Kannon Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of compassion, the temple is one of the most widely visited spiritual sites in the world with over 30 million annual visitors. Kinryuzan means the ‘Golden Dragon Mountain'. Legend has it that the Sensoji Temple was founded in 628 AD after two fishermen fished a gold statuette of Kannon from the Sumida River. Although the understandably confused fishermen tried to put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Therefore, the Sensoji temple was built nearby for the goddess represented by the statue found by the fishermen. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2022/01/20/dragons-of-ancient-asia/

The Sensoji Kannon Temple in Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest temple and an extremely popular tourist destination. Join Jason and Paul as they learn about this beautiful and historic spiritual site!

Te contamos del Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 15 "Vida de ecosistemas terrestres". La biodiversidad está en riesgo permanente, ya que la humanidad elimina 13 millones de hectáreas de bosque cada año. Simplemente en el último mes, más de 11,000 de la sierra de Santiago en Nuevo León y de Arteaga en Coahuila, han sido consumidas por el fuego debido a descuidos de turistas en cabañas... Por lo cual te contamos cómo contribuir a proteger a los bosques y la naturaleza. Toda ayuda siempre es buena.En el cotilleo, contamos la segunda parte de las últimas vacaciones de Tania en Japón. Anota en tu lista de lugares por visitar el Museo Samurai donde puedes aprender de su vida e incluso probarte trajes típicos, el Santuario Meiji que es perfecto para tomar fotos y aprender de la espiritualidad japonesa y la calle Takeshita. También de la península de Miura con sus costas, playas e increíble gastronomía con atún de la mejor calidad. Finalmente te contamos del templo Sensoji.Aquí puedes ver la conferencia para planear tu viaje a Japón: https://youtu.be/UTk_CVxRvPwSíguenos en instagram para no perderte más datos o tips de los lugares: https://www.instagram.com/cotilleoviajero/

Recorrido por la fascinante Tokio, deteniéndonos en los lugares más emblemáticos de la misma, donde conseguiremos captar esas imágenes que se recordarán toda la vida. También realizaremos tres excursiones a lugares emblemáticos como son Kamakura, Kawagoe y Nikko. Comenzaremos admirando los cerezos en flor en el Parque Ueno y desde ahí iremos a los diferentes barrios de la ciudad. Pasaremos por las tiendas de Ameyoko, disfrutaremos del paso de cebra más transitado del mundo en el barrio de Shibuya, nos dejaremos sorprender por los neones en Akihabara, oleremos el incienso en el templo Sensoji en el barrio de Asakusa, etc. Después visitaremos la fascinante Kamakura que por su paz, tranquilidad y bonitos templos te hace retroceder a la antigüedad. Seguiremos por Kawagoe conocida como la “pequeña Edo” bonita localidad situada en la prefectura de Saitama en la región de Kanto y finalizaremos en la fascinante Nikko, Nikko,considerada Patrimonio de la Humanidad por ser una belleza natural además de ser un importante emplazamiento de otras maestras arquitectónicas. Por último, señalaremos esas lecturas interesantes que siempre complementan un gran viaje. Si quieres ver algunas de las fotos del recorrido accede a http://viajandoconmicamara.com/japon-tokio/ y si tienes dudas contacta conmigo en www.viajandoconmicamara.com

Recorrido por la fascinante Tokio, deteniéndonos en los lugares más emblemáticos de la misma, donde conseguiremos captar esas imágenes que se recordarán toda la vida. También realizaremos tres excursiones a lugares emblemáticos como son Kamakura, Kawagoe y Nikko. Comenzaremos admirando los cerezos en flor en el Parque Ueno y desde ahí iremos a los diferentes barrios de la ciudad. Pasaremos por las tiendas de Ameyoko, disfrutaremos del paso de cebra más transitado del mundo en el barrio de Shibuya, nos dejaremos sorprender por los neones en Akihabara, oleremos el incienso en el templo Sensoji en el barrio de Asakusa, etc. Después visitaremos la fascinante Kamakura que por su paz, tranquilidad y bonitos templos te hace retroceder a la antigüedad. Seguiremos por Kawagoe conocida como la “pequeña Edo” bonita localidad situada en la prefectura de Saitama en la región de Kanto y finalizaremos en la fascinante Nikko, Nikko,considerada Patrimonio de la Humanidad por ser una belleza natural además de ser un importante emplazamiento de otras maestras arquitectónicas. Por último, señalaremos esas lecturas interesantes que siempre complementan un gran viaje. Si quieres ver algunas de las fotos del recorrido accede a http://viajandoconmicamara.com/japon-tokio/ y si tienes dudas contacta conmigo en www.viajandoconmicamara.com

The best Tempura Restaurant that we had in Asakusa Tokyo Japan is called Tendon! The reason that its the best for us is because the price is cheap, big serving, and most of all, the seafood is really fresh! Its crispy on the outside and moist on the inside! If you love tempura, you have to check out this place!Nearby the Tendon Tempura Restaurant in Asakusa, Houses the oldest Buddhist Temple in Tokyo called Sensoji also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple.  Founded in 628, Sensoji Temple is the oldest temple in Tokyo. Many people believe that the Asakusa Kannon deity enshrined here has the ability to bestow benefits on earth, and around 30 million visitors from throughout Japan and abroad visit the temple every year. It was the epicenter for the development of Edo culture, and these traces still remain today.  Dominating the entrance to the temple is the kaminari-mon or "Thunder Gate." This imposing Buddhist structure features a massive paper lantern dramatically painted in vivid red-and-black tones to suggest thunderclouds and lightning. Within the precincts stand a stately five-story pagoda and the main hall, devoted to Kannon. Leave us  a review on iTunes, and we'll put your name under the credits on the next episode! It will really help us out! Thanks! Inquiries? Make music? Want to Collaborate? Or just say hi? DestinationCosmo@gmail.com Follow us!!! Instagram via DestinationCosmoPodcast Facebook via Destination Cosmo Travel Podcast Twitter via @DestinationCos Music by: Birocratic soundcloud.com/birocratic  Loveshadow soundcloud.com/loveshadow Moods soundcloud.com/moodsprod Opening Music by: Aso soundcloud.com/aricogle

We just have to say, we have the most awesome fans ever. Seriously, you guys rock. While we love you all, you'll get to see who currently has the ranking of #1 fan in just a bit... Our next few days in Japan involved a lot of great food... oh, and a typhoon. (If you missed the first part of the trip, you can listen here!) Day 3 (Our 3rd day together was Allison's 5th day in Japan, which is why the day numbers might seem a little off sometimes...) So first things first, Allison just had to try the Shiro Cream Puff from Beard Papa's that Rachael had been raving about. Made with tapioca flour and a cream cheese filling, she was instantly obsessed. Since Rachael and her family got to spend our day 5 (a Sunday) seeing old friends at church, Allison and Son ventured to Don Quixote, which we describe as "Wal-Mart on crack". Seriously. Then we went to Bassanova! Green curry soba for the win! But the much more exciting part of this was getting to meet Kate!!! We're still flipping out over the fact that we get to not only say that we have fans as cool as Kate, but that we have a #1 Fan! Kate, you rock, and we think you're totally awesome. Day 4 This was the day we attempted to go Tsukiji fish market. And by attempted, we mean what actually happened was a comedy of errors where Allison and Son got stuck in their hotel, got slightly lost, then ran around looking for Rachael (whose alarm hadn't gone off!) Ah well. At least it was a pretty morning. So after we all got a little more sleep, we headed off to Hamarikyu park where Son did a bit of filming... And then we took the waterboat from Hamarikyu, up Sumida river, to Asakusa where walked up the street to Sensoji temple. On our way, we got to try all sorts of goodies - taiyaki, sweet potato age manju, and (of course) ice cream! After letting the girls play in a park a bit, it was off to Kaikaya by the Sea for dinner - a place that Rachael has been RAVING about for ages. We finally got to try the ginger ale in copper cups that she goes on and on about... And happily, the tuna ribs (along with the rest of the meal) lived up to the expectation that she had set. (The buttery fried goatfish was another huge winner in that meal!) Day 5 Did we mention it was typhoon season when we went? Yeah. And like any sane person would do, we went to the zoo on the day the typhoon was supposed to hit. And dragged poor Kate with us! Zoo food in Japan is surprisingly good, for a ridiculously inexpensive price. Allison's maple syrup-filled pancakes with blueberry jam were fantastic, and the chicken karaage that Rachael got for the girls was crazy good. But the best thing ware the homemade roasted sweet potatoes (yaki imo!) that Kate brought for us. Because she's the yaki imo girl! (P.S. Go follow her on twitter. Tell her we sent you. Be prepared to find out why we adore her so!) That evening we actually got to meet Keizo (since he wasn't there when all we went to Bassanova) and go out for monjayaki! Monjayaki is like okonomiyaki, but waterier. However, still delicious. After dinner, the Fujis went back to their hotel (smart people - there was a typhoon coming, after all!) but Son was still hungry, so we went for ramen with Keizo and his girlfriend. And then it was a sprint back to the rain station, against the rain and wind that were getting stronger by the minute! Yeah. There was a typhoon. Thankfully we were all safe in our respective beds by the time it actually hit. What a day! We're having a contest! You can enter to win one of two pairs of silicon saibashi (cooking chopsticks, like these) that we brought back from Japan. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. One entry per person. You have until 11:59PM on Monday, September 24th, 2012 to enter. We will ship internationally, so anyone may enter. The two winners will be chosen using random.org. Good luck!