A Memorial

This memorial was in the foyer of the National palace Museum. There were signs and notices as to who this was and what it was all about, but with all the people around and being short on time, I was very grateful for getting this pic. It would be nice to know though.

Kuanyin

Standing high on hill above Keelung harbour, is the Buddhist statue of Kuanyin. Kuanyin is the Buddhist god of mercy. This particular statue stands at 22 meters high, and is well within that layer of smog

Standing Guard

This statue was standing guard at the entrance to the Shurijo Castle. I only saw the one, but apparently they always guard in pairs. One has his mouth open, and the second one has his mouth closed. There is a reason for this, we were told, but for now has slipped my memory. Appologies once again for the very green photo.

Shibaraku Statue

We found this fellow in the grounds of the Senso-ji Temple. The only English sign I found said he was a Shibaraku statue. Whatever that means, he certainly looks scarey, and i would not like to meet him in the dark!

Garden Art Pt 3

This is the Koshin Stone Monument, and according to the sign beside it, is believed to have been made in 1659.

The garden of the Chinzanso Hotel is full of historical artifacts from all over Japan.

Garden Art Pt 2

A close up of one of the stone statues in the garden of the Chinzanso Hotel. There were twenty of them all scattered around the garden.

Garden Art

Part of the "Stone Statues of Rakan", these little fellows were found in the garden as we walked through the grounds of the Chinzanso Hotel for lunch. There are 20 of them in all, created by Jakuchu Ito in the 1600's. Originally they were in Seikhoji Temple in Kyoto, and were deliverd to this location in Tokyo in 1925.