Nara– category –
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Todaiji Goshuin: I Asked for Five and Was Left Alone With a Bodhisattva
The smell of tatami. Cicadas. An electric fan turning its head from side to side. With my eyes closed, this was a Japanese summer and nothing more. With them open, a Jizo Bosatsu sat in front of me, and there was no one else in the hall.... -
My Friend Has a Patron Saint. Nara Has the God of Refrigeration: Himuro Shrine
I have always thought patron saints were one of Catholicism's best ideas. Every profession gets one. Every city gets one. My closest friend has Saint Ambrose, who is also the patron saint of Milan. The saint who watches over one of Europ... -
Only the Vending Machines Were Shining: Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shrine, Nara’s Overlooked Guardian
I was looking for a place to sit. Nothing more noble than that. My feet were done with the Todaiji crowds, and I drifted toward a shaded corner where a few tourists were already resting on benches. Quiet. A deer. It took me a while to un... -
Ishibutai Kofun: Japan’s Stonehenge in the Ancient Village of Asuka
Ishibutai Kofun is Japan's largest megalithic burial chamber — a 2,300-ton stone tomb in the ancient village of Asuka, believed to belong to a 7th-century statesman nobody liked. Today it sits exposed to open sky, framed by cherry blosso... -
Tsubosaka-dera: The Temple That Has Always Looked After the Blind
From the bus window on the way back, I spotted four young white men walking along the road. There is only one place at the end of this road: Tsubosaka-dera. I had just come from that mountain myself, so I could picture their next few hou... -
Why Does Every Japanese Person Think of the Great Buddha When You Say “Nara”?
The End of the Silk Road: Why Todaiji Temple Defines Nara Say "Nara" to any Japanese person. The answer you get back is the Great Buddha. Not the deer. Not Kasuga Taisha. The Great Buddha. The reason is simple: the school system drills i... -
Kasuga Taisha Nara: Visitor Guide to Japan’s Most Sacred Shinto Shrine
I did not yet know what would happen at Kasuga Taisha that morning. The Empty Approach at Dawn The real purpose of the day was the Shunie ceremony at Todai-ji, beginning at seven in the evening. I arrived at Kintetsu Nara Station at 7:50... -
Discover Nara: Dear Tourist, the Deer Were Here First
Nara Travel Guide: Japan's Ancient Capital of Temples, Sacred Deer, and Living Tradition Nara is not the loudest name on most visitors' itineraries. That distinction belongs to Tokyo and Kyoto, perhaps Osaka. But Nara — ancient, unhurrie...
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