妙本寺二天門 Myohonji Temple
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妙本寺二天門 Myohonji Temple |
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鎌倉の妙本寺は日蓮宗最古の寺院。参道の石段を登ったところにある二天門は、仏教の守護神である四天王のうち、持国天と多聞天（毘沙門天）を安置している。向かって右側が持国天、左側が多聞天。
鎌倉市の妙本寺境内の桜としだれ桜と海棠の花。今年の桜は開花が早く、枝垂桜と同時期に咲いています。海棠の花はもう少しでした。
鎌倉の妙本寺の祖師堂は鎌倉最大級の木造仏堂建築で、日蓮宗最古の寺院
鎌倉 鶴ヶ岡八幡宮に続く、参道・若宮大路です。真冬のそれも雨上がりなので、桜は葉もないし、水たまりまで出来て、寒々しい雰囲気です。春になったら、桜の咲いたバージョンを取りにいきます。
段葛（だんかずら）とは、鎌倉市の鶴岡八幡宮の参道、若宮大路の二の鳥居から鶴岡八幡宮までの車道より一段高い歩道で桜並木が続いている。
鎌倉、小町通りにある、壱番屋というせんべいを売っている店の前です。真冬の雨上がりなので、人も少ないですが、それでも大きなひさしのおかげで目立つ外観です。とりあえず、ぬれせんべい買って帰りました。
The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.
The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.
They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.
So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.
The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.
I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.
At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)
Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...
Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.
They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.
Text by Steve Smith.
