Camellia Tea Ceremony🍂NENBUTSU FALL🍁
Even the stoniest of hearts cannot help but enjoy autumn in Arashiyama.
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In 1955 Nishimura Kōchō (西村公朝) became head priest of Otagi Nenbutsu-ji (愛宕念仏寺) and immediately set about reviving the temple.
With a background in art and restoring Buddhist statuary, Kōchō realised that statues might hold the key to restoring the temple's fortunes.
#嵐山 #Arashiyama #Sagano #嵯峨野 #Kyoto #京都 #OtagiNenbutsuji #autumn #momiji #紅葉
Kōchō first created a ceiling painting of Buddha's 10 Great Disciples (十大弟子), replacing a dragon mural (painted by Kanō Tan'yū 狩野探幽 1602-74) that had been completely destroyed in the Meiji period.
He then turned his attention to crafting an army of statues!
#Japan #Kyoto #OtagiNenbutsuji #愛宕念仏寺 #statues #Buddhism #autumn
Not long after he became head priest, Kōchō gathered a team of amateurs to begin sculpting small statues of 'rakan' (羅漢 aka 'arhats'), the 500 disciples present when Buddha first expounded the Flower Sutra.
The initial goal was 500 statues.
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Astonishingly, 10 years later 1200 Rakan (千二百羅漢) had been created! These were placed in the grounds of Otagi Nenbutsu-ji (愛宕念仏寺) and unveiled in 1981 to mark the temple's full restoration.
Kōchō not only saved the temple, but made its name a familiar one.
