This week’s collection of cool and interesting Japan related links:

Japan Images Video Buddha of Kamakura Tokyo Skies Utsunomiya Gyoza Matsuri 2009 Kosan-Ji. The architecture ShichiGoSan 753 - la cérémonie des enfants au sanctuaire Shinto Hamamatsu International Mosaiculture 2009 Tokyo’s best maid cafes A Master’s Touch - Sushi and the secrets of its chefs

Previous week: Weekly J-Links 7

I wrote some time ago that a character is often considered kawaii if it has a big head, big eyes, curved head and body, small (or missing) mouth, etc…

If those rules are followed, can we apply the kawaii concept to a… police station?

… like this koban (police box), located near the entrance of the Ikebukuro Station.

The name of the building comes from the similarity to an owl’s head, Fukurou Koban (Owls Police Box).

One of the aspects I love about Japan are the unusual monuments, scattered throughout the country, often sending beautiful messages.
While strolling through Sumida Park I discovered a little know monument, built to honor Takeshima Hagoromo, the author of the lyrics of a famous Japanese song, Hana.

The monument of Hana was raised in 1956 by its students from the Tokyo Music School (today’s Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) and, since the poem expressed the beauty of the Sumida River, it was placed nearby.

Haru-no urara-no Sumidagawa
Nobori kudari-no funabito-ga
Kai-no shizuku-mo hana-to chiru
Nagame-wo nani-ni tatou-beki

Mizu-ya akebono tsuyu abite
Ware-ni mono-iu sakuragi-wo
Mizu-ya yuugure te-wo nobe-te
Ware sashi-maneku aoyagi-wo

Nishiki orinasu choutei-ni
Kurure-ba noboru oboro-zuki
Geni ikkoku-mo senkin-no
Nagame-wo nani-ni tatou-bek

via From Keisho Center ・継承センター便り.

You can find a translation at Pacific Islander.

Takeshima Hagoromo was also a very good calligrapher, the text from the monument being a copy after one of his manuscripts:

The song was composed by Taki Rentaro, one of the best known Japanese composers.
Let’s listen to it, performed by Sakiko Ito and Chieko Baisho:

His films may have influenced the development of today’s anime. He’s by far the best known cartoon character and his name (written ミッキー) is equally popular even in Japan.

Walt Disney established the birth date of Mickey Mouse on November 18, 1928, the day of the premiere of Steamboat Willie. That wasn’t the first cartoon with Mickey Mouse, but it was the first one with sound, and the voice of Mickey was performed by Walt Disney himself, until 1947.

Despite the huge audience of anime, the Disney “competition” has a very strong presence in Japan. Leaving aside the specialized shops from Akihabara, the quantity of Disney related goods on the Japanese shops is similar to quantity of anime related merchandise.

Image via Wikipedia

More, as everybody knows, Tokyo Disney Resort is an important place on the map of Disney Parks and Resorts.

Happy Birthday, Mickey!

Mickey Mouse at Tokyo DisneySea:

After the meeting with the Kappa from Kappabashi, on a street near Nakamise-Dori I suddenly found myself in… Edo.

A character with a yellow umbrella, climbed on the roof of a building, was watching the pedestrians with calm and superiority…

Across the street, another one was looking rather bored…

… while another one was just climbing the building…

… and he was looking with suspicion towards the street, to see if someone noticed him…

In the middle of the street, another one, with a few boards, was advertising something…

And he was successful, since I wasn’t the only one looking at him, a boy and a girl stopped in front of him, read the info and left discussing.

Suddenly, a nice coincidence… a boy passed by wearing similar clothes with the statues:

The Daigyo-ji Temple from Kamakura is related to a chilling ghost story that took place around the year 1243.

According to the story, the ghost of a young woman was haunting the shores of the Nameri river, close to the Daigyo-ji Temple. The people were scared and even tried to leave the district, because those who were unlucky enough to meet the ghost were struck by bad luck and some of them fell sick.

A priest named Nitto, who used to cross the river every day, heard this from the local people and, one night, when he was returning home late, he saw a young woman, with hair in disarray, with the kimono smeared with blood and with a baby in her arms, standing on the shores of the river.
The woman told him that she was the wife of Akiyama Kageyu and that she died at childbirth, together with her child. Now, she was trying to cross the river, but whenever she tried, after a few steps, the child was getting too heavy and she couldn’t move forward.

The priest wanted to help her and told her to try crossing the river while he was chanting a sutra. The woman entered in the water, but she still couldn’t cross the river. She asked the priest to carry her baby to the other side of the river. Nitto agreed, he took the baby and, chanting the sutra loudly, he crossed the river, but when he arrived, he was holding only a few withered leaves, not the baby, who was back into the arms of the woman.

Then he told her to quickly try again, and chanted the sutra even louder. Finally the woman reached the other side of the river, and she just disappeared.

After a few days, the priest dreamed a woman who thanked him for his help and gave him a brocade bag with a piece of gold.
The next day, Nitto visited Kageyu Akiyama and showed him the bag. Akiyama told him that his wife and child died indeed several weeks ago and he acknowledged that the bag belonged to his wife.

Later, Nitto built at the Daigyo-ji Temple a shrine for the woman and her child, praying for easy childbirth for all pregnant women.
Since then, the ghost was never seen again…

Today, people come to the Temple to pray to Onme-sama, the goddess of childbirth. The statue of the goddess is enshrined at the Temple and it is displayed once a year, on April 8th, on Hana Matsuri, the Buddha’s Birthday.
Also, at the Temple, pregnant women can receive help and advice from a pediatrician.

Shichi-Go-San ( 七五三 - seven-five-three ) is a festival marking a Japanese traditional rite of passage for 3 and 7 year-old girls and 3 and 5 year-old boys. Because it is not a national holiday, it is held on the nearest weekend to November 15th.

In the old times, the day of November 15 (the 15th day of the 11th month) was considered auspicious and it was permanently associated with the Shichi-Go-San festival when the Shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa organized the rite for his son on this day.

Again, it’s the time for this week’s collection of cool and interesting Japan related links:

Waseda Festival 2009 Festivals in Japan: Lifeline of a nation The Luxury Capsule Hotel Remnants of Kamaishi Iron Mine Remains of large structure unearthed at Makimuku ruins in Nara San’in Trip: Day Five-Historical Silver Town-Iwami Ginzan

Previous week: Weekly J-Links 6

In front of the Sumo Ryogoku Kokugikan arena, there are two small Shinto Shrines placed right next to each other.

The presence of a Shinto Shrine here is not unusual, since Shinto and Sumo have strong bonds.
The first Sumo bouts took place at a Shinto Shrine, part of a ritual to entertain the Kami (Gods) and pray for rich harvests.

There are Shrines where Sumo is still performed as part of Shinto rituals and there are also lots of Shinto elements in Sumo, of which I will mention only two: Above the modern Sumo ring there is an overhead roof similar to the roof of a Shrine (yakata), and the Sumo wrestlers are tossing salt before the bout, which is a Shinto purification ritual.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Kappa are water spirits, creatures living in rivers, generally mischievous, known for stealing crops and kidnapping children. They are the size of a 6-10 years child, they smell like fish and can change their color, like chameleons.
On their back they have a tortoise-like shell and on their heads there is a plate filled with a liquid. The power of the Kappa draws from that plate, so if the liquid is spilled, the kappa lose its power.

Even if quite small, the kappa is a very strong creature, and this combined with their bad behavior makes them quite dangerous. However, it’s good to know that they do have a weakness, their obsession for politeness.
So, if you happen to meet a kappa, you must perform a deep bow in front of him. The kappa will likely respond with an even deeper bow and… it will spill the liquid and will loose its power…

Well, one evening, I was strolling down the Kappabashi street in Asakusa, when suddenly, in front of a small shop, I noticed a figure resembling a kappa… It seemed to be a wooden statue… but who knows… it might have been a kappa in disguise…

The head was tilted back, probably part of the liquid was already spilled… so I approached, hoping that he was powerless…

…but surprise, seen from the front side, it was just a women disguised in kappa.

• Kappa on Wikipedia

With its 240 meters, the NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building is the third tallest building in Tokyo. But this building also holds a more interesting record, being the tallest clock tower in the world, ahead of the Palace of Culture and Science from Warsaw (237 meters).

The clock was not there from the beginning, it was installed 2 years after the inauguration, in 2002, when NTT Docomo celebrated 10 years.

Located at the height of 150 meters, with a diameter of 15 meters, the clock is visible from many places around Shinjuku. One of the best places to admire it is from the Shinjuku Southern Terrace, in front of Takashimaya.

I noticed many people looking towards the roof of the building, to look at the time or for weather forecast, because the colored lights from the top of the building indicate if it’s going to rain or not.

Even if the building was inspired after the Empire State Building, it has its charm, for those who like this kind of architecture.
Unfortunately for those who like to visit tall buildings, like me, the building is used mainly for technical equipment and is not available for visiting.

In Nikko, near the Sanbutsu-doh Hall from the Rinno-ji Temple (photos), you can see the Sohrintoh Tower, a bronze tower built in 1643 by the priest Tenkai.

1000 volumes of Buddhist Holy Scriptures are stored under this tower, and on the 13.2-meter tall tower, decorated with 24 bells, we can see engraved the mon (crest) of the Tokugawa family, 3 hollyhocks:

Sohrintoh Tower was initially built at the Toshougu Shrine (photo) and in 1650 it was moved near the Futarasan Shrine (photo). In 1875, after the Meiji law regarding the separation of Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples, it was moved again, on its current location.

I think that in the past it was more spectacular, but today it looks cold and dull, the bronze is oxidized, greenish, and the 24 bells aren’t shining anymore.

Another interesting object, right near the tower, is a lantern, Itowappu Tourou, donated by the local population as thanks to Tokugawa Ieyasu for the privilege of silk trading (Itowappu was the permission to trade silk).

Lantern detail:

Besides the well-known red torii of the Hakone Shrine, in the Lake Ashi there is another, smaller torii, which belongs to the Kuzuryu Shrine.

There is an old Japanese story related to this Shrine, that caught my attention because it is about an evil dragon, something unusual for the East Asian mythology.

The legend says that, during the Nara period, a fierce nine-headed dragon settled in the Lake Ashi and demanded to the villagers human sacrifices, a young girl every year.
Hearing this, a priest named Mangan came and exorcised the dragon and chained him to an underwater rock.
In time, the dragon reformed himself and became worshipped as Kuzuryū Daimyōjin (九頭竜大明神, “Great God Nine-Headed Dragon"). Consequently, the priest built a shrine to the dragon, where the offerings changed from human sacrifice to steamed rice with red beans.
Since then, the dragon became the guardian spirit of the Lake Ashi.

The legend is very much similar to the European legends, where the dragon is usually a malevolent being. In the Romanian tales, there is a similar being called “balaur“, with 3, 7 or 12 heads, that also asks human sacrifices, usually young girls or princesses.
In the contrast, the dragons from the East Asian mythology are benevolent beings, associated with the water and frequently depicted surrounded by clouds, controlling the wind and the water.

The 13th photo (oops, anyone suffering from triskaidekaphobia ? ) from my Reflections series is from Ueno, on Asakusa-dori:

It’s time for this week’s collection of cool and interesting Japan related links:

Halloween Tokyo 2009 Edo-Period Recycling Hakata Lantern Festival Sendai-shi via @tokyotopia Miko-Mai or Miko Kagura Kobe Biennale 2009 – lights and sounds Debating the fate of Shimokitazawa Yuta: The Japanese shamans World’s Greatest City: 50 reasons why Tokyo is No.1 via @tokyotopia A trip back in time to the hometown of Nankichi Niimi

Previous week: Weekly J-Links 5

In Japan, old and new are joined not only in architecture, but also in the dressing style. One of the main aspects I love about Japan is the fact that it is one of the few modern countries where the traditional dressing is still “trendy".

Of course, it’s not very surprising to see older people traditionally dressed, and I have met many ladies dressed in kimono, walking on the streets of Asakusa.

What is amazing is how much the Japanese young generation is fond of the traditional dressing.

Yukata is a summer kimono, made of cotton or synthetic fabric, with brigh colors and various patterns. During the Heian period, the nobles wore yukatabira (yu - bath and katabira - under clothing) after taking a bath. In time, the term shortened to yukata.
Later, the wariors also started to wear yukata, and during the Edo period, when the public baths become very popular, the yukata became widely worn by the public.
Today, since the late 90’s, the popularity of the yukata is steadily rising.

Dressed in yukata, all the Japanese girls become beautiful and they have a certain charm, delicacy and elegance. I always felt the need to take pictures with them…

One of the cutest Japanese mascots is Laugh-kun, the Fuji TV mascot. Laugh-kun first appeared in the successful Warau-Inu (Laughing Dog) variety show, a series aired on Fuji-TV during 1998 - 2003.

If you visit the Fuji TV building in Odaiba, you may even meet him or even take your photo with him.

If you’re not so lucky (I wasn’t… ), you may be content with the statue from the observatory or with one of the many souvenirs…

As I wrote about some time ago, I like very much these small shrines hokora, located on the side of the roads, like this one I discovered while strolling in Washimiya.

It is dedicated to Inari, kami of fertility, rice, agriculture and success. Inside, two pairs of kitsune guardians (males and females), the messengers of Inari.

It is one of the few shrines I’ve met left in disarray a little bit, with some statues fallen and with dried branches, but like this it seems to have even more charm…

The first time I heard a sanshin, I was in the park behind the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, where a boy and a girl were practicing together.

I loved the sound, and I understood why it is said to have healing powers…

Similar to the more famous Shamisen but with a smaller neck and body, the sanshin is an instrument with 3 strings, derived from sanxian, a Chinese instrument that have come to Okinawa during the 14th century.
The body is covered in either habu or python skin and the neck is made from a black tree.
It was initially used only by nobles, but in time it became popular and several centuries later, the sanshin spread and became a popular Japanese instrument.

Here are some recordings with old Okinawan music, accompanied by the sanshin:

Behind the Senso-ji complex in Asakusa, there is a small temple, Zeniduka-Jizo, with a very interesting story, one of those stories that makes you wonder what would you have done in the same situation.

On the place of today’s temple, at the beginning of the 18th century, there used to be the courtyard of a family named Yamaguchi. One day, while working in the garden, the woman discovered a pot filled with Kanei-Tsuhou coins (money used in Japan from the beginning of the Edo period until the beginning of the Meiji era).

Image via Wikipedia

The woman was afraid that from then on, the family will rely solely on those money, will stop working and will decline, so she… re-buried the money.

Soon, the Yamaguchi family become prosperous. On the place where the coins are buried they enshrined Jizo, and later the temple build there was named Zeniduka, “Coin Mound”.

The temple we see today was rebuilt in 1964.

In Tokyo, every square inch of green space is precious and must be used at maximum. Since long time ago, those who have not been able to have a garden, have found a simple and beautiful solution: the flower pots placed on the floor or on the sidewalk, near the entrance.

It’s Saturday, so here’s this week’s collection (the richest so far) of cool, interesting, remarkable J-Links (in no particular order):

Tokyo International Manga Library Officially Announced Buddhist Sutra Chanting Distribution On Cellphone Most dramatic internet shake-up in 40 years to allow web addresses in languages from Arabic to Japanese Momochi Matsuri (photo) Replica of English church built on 21st floor of Japanese tower block via @JapanSoc Animated stereoviews of old Japan 10 Ramen Shops in Tokyo Worth Visiting via @tokyotopia Himeji Castle (photo) Tatara Festival in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Free museums in Japan Shrines shine light into the inner soul Kawagoe festival floats (photo) Leading Akasaka geisha says looking beautiful alone is not enough Koyasan Images (photo)

Previous week: Weekly J-Links 4

I think that the best place to admire Yokohama from high above is from the heights of the Yokohama Landmark Tower.

Click on photo for higher resolution:

If the weather is good the landscape is stunning, and you can see as far as Hakone, the Tanzawa Mountains and sometimes, the Mount Fuji.
I was careful to visit the tower in a clear and sunny day, after a strong storm. I was able to see Tanzawa, however Fuji was hidden in the clouds.

I could have stayed there the whole day, without getting tired, admiring the view. I stayed long enough to have fun looking for known places and, of course, to take some photos.
Here’s a first set of bird’s eye view photos, and naturally, some landmark information. I will get back soon with a set of detailed photos.

Looking towards north-east, the 3 tall buildings in the foreground are the Queen’s Tower A, B and C:

Click on photo for higher resolution:

The round shaped building (intended to look like a sail) is the Yokohama Grand Inter-Continental Hotel and on its left, with the white roof, there is the Pacifico Yokohama convention center:

Click on photo for higher resolution:

To the right, we can see the Cosmo World Amusement Park, with the Cosmo World Ferris Wheel:

Click on photo for higher resolution:

With a height of 224.9 meters, the Shinjuku Mitsui Building is now only the 8th tallest building in Tokyo, but it had its moment of glory. Between September 1974 and March 1978, it was not only the tallest building in Tokyo, but also the tallest building in Japan. It lost the first place in 1978, when the Sunshine 60 from Ikebukuro (239.7 meters) was finished.
Today, the tallest building in Japan is the Landmark Tower in Yokohama.

Mitsui Building draw my attention with its dark, sober colors, contrasting the surrounding buildings.

I also like the X-shaped structures, 6 stories tall, giving the building a unique appearance. Without them it would have been just another banal building built in the ’70s American style.

It is considered that the kawaii trend appeared in Japan at the beginning of the ’70s, when a new writing style appeared, called burikko-ji. Used by Japanese teenager girls, with fine lines and stylized, rounded characters, the new style was written laterally, inserting in the text drawings like hearts, stars and smileys.

However, according to other opinions (mine too…), the kawaii trend was always part of the Japanese culture.

That would explain the abundance of kawaii characters that can be seen everywhere in Japan, loved by women and children but also by men and used by companies and state authorities… like this Major Earthquake Emergency Road sign I discovered in Suginami, portrayed by… a happy kawaii fish…

In the park behind the Senso-ji Temple we can see the statue of one of the greatest kabuki actors from the Meiji period, Ichikawa Danjuro IX.

The statue represents him playing the role of Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa, from the Shibaraku play. Yes, the play is about the same Gongoro Kagemasa from the samurai story I was writing about two weeks ago, the samurai who continued to fight, with an arrow stuck in his eye.

Also, the statue represents Danjuro executing a kabuki technique called aragoto ("rough style", from aramushagoto - “reckless warrior matter"), created by Ichikawa Danjuro I, a bombastic style exaggerating all the aspects of the role to portray valiant warriors.

Talking about bombastic style, I enjoyed the ornaments from the fence surrounding the statue.

An interesting fact about this statue is that right next to it, in April, takes place a 400 years old festival called Naki-zumo ("Crying sumo” or “Crying Baby Contest").
At this festival, babies held by sumo fighters are placed facing each other and compete for the loudest cries, while the judge repeats “nake, nake” (cry, cry). The loudest baby is declared the winner.
This is a prayer for the children to grow up in good health and it is also believed that the cries are driving away evil spirits.

There are many stories about the origins of Maneki Neko, the well known Japanese statue. Here’s, in my opinion, the most beautiful of them all:

At the begining of the Edo period, on the place where today is located the Gotokuji Temple, it was a small temple where a very poor monk lived, accompanied only by his cat, named Tama.

One day, a noble man, according to some writings Ii Naotaka from Hikone, was returning from hunting and, caught in the rain near the temple, took refuge under a nearby tree.
After a while, he observed a cat sitting in front of the temple’s entrance, beckoning him to enter. Surprised, the noble moved towards the cat and immediately the tree was struck by lighting.

As a gratitude for having its life saved, the noble became the temple’s patron, and the temple soon became prosperous.

After the cat died, it was buried in the Temple’s cemetery and the Maneki Neko sculptures were made to honor the magical cat.

Maneki Neko are charms for good luck and prosperity, as Tama brought to the small temple. According to some sources, since then, Maneki Neko has been considered an incarnation of the Goddess of Mercy, the deity who watches over and protects people.

The temple was renamed Gotokuji Temple in 1697 and today there are hundreds of Maneki Neko, of various sizes, brought by people praying for business success, but also for their lost or sick cats.

Of course, I bought myself a Maneki Neko, which I’m keeping on my desk.

Here’s one of the tallest narrow buildings I’ve encountered in Tokyo, located near the Suidobashi Station (close to the Tokyo Dome).
The building is squeezed on a narrow strip of land, between the street and the Kanda River:

This week’s collection of cool, interesting, remarkable J-Links:

Kawagoe Festival October means Matsuri. Matsuri means Kagura. Part 5 Asia UNESCO World Heritage Sites (photos) Simply Luv-a-Bull A weekend trip to the castle city: Okayama Tokyo: Town of Terror Tokyo festival to screen Japanese dolphin slaughter film Five UNESCO Castles on One Small Island: Okinawa, Japan (via @tokyotopia) Takarazuka in Tokyo Daily yokai portraits Treasures of the Imperial Collections

Previous week: Weekly J-Links 3

Sometimes, a photo reminds me of a haiku… like this Raindropped Blue Hydrangea, by Mark Highton Ridley:

hydrangea
a bush is the little garden
of a detached room

Basho

Click on photo for higher resolution:

This post is also my entry to this months freebie prize draw at the Highton-Ridley fine art photography website. If you’re a blog or site owner, you can also participate!

One of the most beautiful places in Kamakura is the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, built in 1180 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate.

There are a lot of interesting things to be said about this Shrine (and a lot of beautiful photos) and I will return to this topic on another occasion. Today I want to propose a photowalk on the shores of the ponds, covered with superb lotus flowers.

The ponds name, Genpei, reminds of the Genpei War, between the Minamoto and the Tiara clans, finished with the victory of Minamoto and followed by the founding of the Kamakura Shogunate, in 1192.

The ponds are located after the main entry, right after passing the torii…

… and are separated by 3 bridges, placed very close to each other.

As you already know, I like modern buildings, with unusual or daring designs, and for this reason Odaiba is one of my favorite places.
Actually, even the first building ever built in Odaiba, in 1974, had an unusual design: Fune no Kagakukan (Museum of Maritime Science).

The building’s architecture was inspired after the famous luxury liner Queen Elizabeth II.

The Museum of Maritime Science is a marine and nautical culture museum, I enjoyed a lot the descriptions and the history of ships and even a ship handling simulator.

The ship’s funnel is actually an observatory, offering a superb view:

Some of my Gundam photos were taken from here:

View towards the Tokyo Bay:

View towards Odaiba:

And here’s the Google Maps/Street location:

In Yokohama’s China Town you can find the Mazu Miao Temple, one of the most colorful and ornamented temples I’ve seen. Unfortunately, because I was there at noon and the sun was intense, I couldn’t take a panoramic view, but I can offer you some details and a great view of the gate:

Click on photo for higher resolution:

The Mazu Miao temple is the newest Chinese Temple in Yokohama Chinatown, officially opened in March 2006.
There’s an interesting story about it:

Initially the place was allocated for an apartment block, but part of the “Citizen-based town planning", the members of the community decided that the block will have a negative impact on the cultural landscape.
After negotiations, with money raised through contributions from all over Japan, they bought the land from the developers (at a price of 990 million ¥ - approx. 11 million $) and they built the Mazu Temple.

The Temple is dedicated to Mazu, the Goddess of the sea, protector of sailors and fishermen, on of the most popular Chinese Goddesses.
Recently, the Chinese customs and traditions dedicated to Goddess Mazu were designated by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

When the Tokyo Sky Tree project started, the new tower from Sumida was to be the world’s tallest tower, with a height of 610 meters.

In the meantime, the construction of the Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower just finished and the tower from China became the world’s tallest tower, with a height of 610 meters, surpassing the CN Tower from Toronto (553 meters).

foto: Wikipedia

But the Japanese are not willing to concede… They just changed the project, extending the height of the antenna with 24 meters, so, when finished, the Tokyo Sky Tree will reach 634 meters. The antenna will be called Musashi, the old name of the region.

The construction is advancing fast, I photographed the tower in August, when it was 70 meters height:

… and here’s how it looks, just a month later:

foto: Wikipedia

Approx. 1 km south-east of Kamakura Station, you can find the Jo-eiji Temple, known also as Botamochi-dera.

Here, on September 12 1271, a strange drama took place, considered a miracle by the adepts of Nichiren Buddhism.

The monk Nichiren, the founder of the Nichiren sect, was a controversial figure of that epoch, because his teachings conflicted with the teachings of other Buddhist sects. Nichiren considered that his school, based on Lotus Sutra, was the only correct form of Buddhism and all the other forms where heretical or unfit. He also criticized the government and the religious leaders, and eventually was arrested by the shogunate and sentenced to death.

On the day of his execution, when he was taken towards the place of execution, he passed by the Jo-eiji Temple.

Here, a woman from his sect offered him botamochi, cookies made from rice flour and sweet azuki bean covered with sesame.

During his execution, the executioner’s sword was apparently stricken by a lightning bolt. The terrified executioners stopped, considering this was a divine intervention and the witnesses said that the botamochi was what saved Nichiren’s life.

Since then, the Temple is known as Botamochi-dera and, on every September 12th, a celebration for Nichiren takes place and the visitors receive “lifesaving botamochi” as charm against bad luck.

A “Reflections” photo taken this summer in Shimbashi, Tokyo: