The Kyoto suburbs creep around a grassy mound of earth crowned with a stone memorial, below which are buried tens of thousands of sliced off noses and ears, the grisly trophies of a savage 16th... »

Memento Mori | Edited by allison and Nicholas Jackson

The Go'o Shrine, on the western side of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, celebrates Lord Wake no Kiyomaro (733-799) who, in the year 769, blocked a Buddhist priest unwelcome by the populace, from... »

Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by spinkk and Nicholas Jackson

Heavenly Dragon Temple, or Tenryu-ji, is best known for its zen garden, a long and winding path lined with thousands of towering bamboo stalks. Tenryū-ji — more formally known as Tenryū... »

Curious Places of Worship | Edited by bebeto, Dylan and others

Built in 711, the Fushimi Inari Shrine is the most famous of several thousands shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto God of rice. Foxes are thought to be his messengers of Inari and many fox... »

Curious Places of Worship | Edited by bebeto and Dylan

The Gyoja are a sect of Tendai Buddhists residing on Japan's Mount Hiei who have come to be known as the "Marathon Monks" for their spiritual athleticism. The ultimate achievement of the sect is... »

Wondrous Performances, Rites and Rituals, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Josh, Dylan and others

In 869 Kyoto was struck by a massive epidemic. In order to end the plague and appease the gods, Emperor Seiwa requested the head priest of the Yasaka Shrine to hold a procession to remove the evil... »

Cultures and Civilizations , Wondrous Performances, Rites and Rituals | Edited by spinkk, Dylan and others

The Sanjusangendo, or Hall of 33 Bays, in Kyoto is a 390 ft. long wooden building built in 1266. Officially known as Rengeo-in, this Tendai Buddhist temple houses 1001 carved statues of Kannon,... »

Rites and Rituals | Edited by Josh and spinkk