Suise -en is built on a strip of land dividing two ancient ponds at the base of Mount Miwa in Nara. It is on the yamanobenomichi. I can find almost no information about the place.
Is it a shrine? or is it a temple?.... it has the trappings of both, which is how most religious sites were until the Meiji government "separated" Shinto and Buddhism. Here is an Inari shrine. (or is it Dakiniten, the buddhist manifestation of Inari?
In my original notes I have the names Benzaiten and Hachidai Ryu. hachidai Ryu is the Eight Dragon Kings, and is also sometimes equated with Benzaiten. Both have a strong association with water, so that makes sense.
There are also lots of buddhist statues. It was here that I found this tableau of lucky gods.
Thank you for showing me the places I miss, when I go to Japan
ReplyDeleteI remember we talked about this place last autumn. Pretty bizarre place.
ReplyDeleteThe Miwa area was home to a unique version of Ryobu Shinto that was more Tendai than Shingon, but the Hachidai Ryuo were important to it. There is a hachidauryu shrine in the Katsuragi area. Did we visit it?
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ReplyDeleteI don't remember if we did or not, Jake.
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