Temples and Shrines

Atsuta Shrine

There was all this hoopla around Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya, so it is one of the first shrines that I visited in Japan. It is old, founded in the 3rd century and dotted with hundreds of aged camphor trees around the compound. It is one of the most important shrines in Japan and is dedicated to the Kusunagi Sword, one of the Three Sacred Treasures of the Imperial Family. There are also historical structures about such as the Oda Nobunaga Wall, a Noh stage and the Treasure House. There appeared to be a sacred tree that people prayed reverence and the most exciting event was the sword forging that was taking place. The actual shrine itself was cordoned off, so one had to pray from a distant. There were also a lot of mosquitoes due to the shade offered by the trees.



This is as close as we can get to the sacred shrine.






















Sacred Tree and.......................................................................................Sword forging

Nittaji Temple Gate

The Nittaji Temple was lovely with a pagoda structure and many statues about. We stopped for some tea and dangos, a sweet treat. There was a Buddhist ceremony going at the time with the banging of gongs and drums, accompanied by chanting. I found this quite hypnotic and lingered for a while.


























Large Statue and Pagoda

Buddhist Ceremony