Some things just seem to repeat themselves over and over again and I am totally at the mercy of this phenomenon here in Japan as well. As I've already written here a few times before, during my tours through the country I'm always drawn to certain places where I have to at least stop and take a quick look. These are especially shrines and temples, of which I must have seen quite a few over the years. Not only when traveling, but also on my everyday trips to and from work, it happens again and again that I stop unexpectedly and unplanned to take a closer look at another object of my curiosity.
Maybe it is mostly shrines, of which there are quite a few in our region. Shrines are part of Shintoism, an indigenous Japanese religion whose gods are mainly found in nature. You will often find shrines in rather prominent places, such as next to majestic trees, next to rocks and in the mountains. The shrines are usually home to a kami, a deity that people come here to pay their respects to.
Many shrines and temples exert a very special attraction that I find hard to resist. Although I don't consider myself a religious person, I find the very distinct, often somewhat mystical atmosphere that emanates from these places extremely fascinating and attractive. And it doesn't have to be the big shrine that is known throughout the country and attracts crowds of visitors every day. On the contrary, I like to stop off at the small local sites, which are usually only visited by the residents of the respective village. I can't say exactly why. Perhaps this is where you can best feel the connection between the people of the country and the kami, or perhaps it is simply out of aesthetic and architectural curiosity or a mixture of all of these.
But whatever it may be, by now this feeling has spontaneously stopped me in my tracks several times already and I have apparently never regretted taking a little time to explore the place a little more closely.
And that's exactly how it was on that fall day when I just wanted to get to work as quickly as possible. The route was not new to me and I had driven along it many times before. That's how I knew about the shrine, which is right next to the road and which I had passed on several occasions. But even though I didn't really have time, I suddenly felt the urge to stop my car. For once, I just wanted to take the opportunity to walk around this shrine and see what there was to discover.
I had parked my car right next to the road and left the hazard lights on. There was no real parking space here anyway and I knew that I would be back in a few minutes. So I walked briskly towards the entrance, where between several trees I was greeted by the first toori, the distinctive gate that you will find in the entrance areas of most shrines.
This one was made of concrete, but just behind it there was another toori shining in the eye-catching and characteristic color that you will find not only in shrines, but also in many temples. Vermilion has become the color I associate most with Japan and which I encounter again and again on my travels here in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In front of the second red toori, there was a stone toro to the left and another to the right, which are also typical of sites like this one. These lanterns are not only found in shrines, but also in many parks, and they are among the most important stylistic elements of Japanese horticultural culture.
But it wasn't just vermilion that was shining here, autumn had brought other colors as well. Above all, there were a few trees that had put on a yellow dress and were probably the most striking feature here.
These included some gingkos, which really come to their best at this time of year. And even though the sky was showing its grayer and darker side on that day, autumn really managed to score points here once again. It's sights like this that show me how wonderful our world can be, even on a gloomy November morning.
There were two more buildings in the complex, such as this small side shrine...
...and the main shrine, which was only slightly larger. As already written, this was a rather small local compound maintained by the people of the neighborhood.
But I hadn't expected anything more and that was probably exactly what I wanted to see here. My curiosity was satisfied and I was simply delighted to have had a look around. It was beautiful and atmospheric, and I was relieved to have had the time for this little stop.
My steps took me out of the facility and back to my car. The day was still quite fresh and there was a lot to do, but first I had to get to work. But I was in a good mood and very grateful to have found some inspiration at thi splace. I wanted to tackle the day ahead of me with exactly this inspiration and I was sure that it would be a good one. And that's exactly how it turned out...