Oka-dera (Ryûgaiji)

Oka-dera is a temple founded in the 7th century in the foothills of southern Nara. This temple is one of many temples originally founded in the Asuka Period, the first period in Japan where the government adopted Chinese philosophy, religion, and standards. The name “Ryûgai,” meaning “Dragon Lid” is from a story saying that the first head monk of the temple defeated a dragon terrorizing the temple and trapped it in a pond on the grounds. The monk used a large stone as a lid to keep the dragon trapped within. The dragon repented and agreed to protect the temple and grant good luck to its visitors. It’s said that the rock will begin to shake in anticipation of rainfall.

For the casual: 7. For the educated: 7.

Oka-dera is a really great temple in a very lovely section of southern Nara Prefecture. With ancient earthen tombs just around the corner, a variety of temples and shrines only a short walk away, and the city of Kashihara a brief drive down the road, Oka-dera is both easy to access but equally free of large crowds.

The temple has only a handfull of buildings in the complex: a main gate, a main hall for worship, and a pagoda on the hill above. Yet despite that, the colors of the wood, the smell of incense, the seasonal flowers and changing leaves create a beautiful tapestry to enjoy regardless of season. It’s not a flashy temple and it can’t hold a candle to the temples of northern Nara or Kyoto, but if you’re looking for a day of temple hopping in the first capital, then I can’t think of many other places to just walk (or bike) and enjoy everything there is to see.

 

Nyoirinji

Hidden in the woods of Yoshino in southern Nara Prefecture is a quiet temple with a storied past. Originally founded in the 10th century, the temple gained siginificant notoriety in the 14th century when Emperor Go-Daigo moved his imperial court from the north (Heian-kyô/Kyoto) to the south in Yoshino. The emperor was recently ousted from the capital by the very warriors he had worked with to overthrow the warrior government of the time, the Kamakura bakufu. He and his allies formed a new court in Yoshino to combat the usurpers, but the emperor passed only two years later and his supporters were removed or eliminated soon after. Emperor Go-Daigo and his wife are buried within small earthen tombs on the slopes just above the temple grounds.

For the casual: 2. For the educated: 6.

To be honest, there isn’t much of a reason to visit this temple. There’s nothing particularly outstanding to see and it’s a long travel for those with no more than a vague interest. There are two scenarios where I believe someone could have more of a reason to visit: first as scholars or those interested in Japanese history, and second as a casual visitor in spring.

For a more educated visitor, the temple is of course home to an emperor’s tomb, and it’s the tomb of a particularly prominant emperor in a long long line of puppet emperors. This guy was actually able to take back his political power even if for only a few years. I mean, no one else was ever able to do that until Emperor Meiji in 1868. But more than that, the temple is home to a treasure hall with items of note belonging to the emperor and his loyal retainers. There are pieces from Kusunoki Masashige (See my post on Minatogawa Jinja), armor sets, paintings, and even the names of loyal retainers carved into the temple door.

Visitors to Japan in spring, particularly in late March-early April, are treated to the entire nation turning to pink with the annual wash of cherry blossoms. There are many brilliant places across the country to see these famous blossoms, but the slopes of Yoshino are literally COVERED in cherry trees. Every spring the entire mountainside turns pink, and the temple grounds are no exception. If you enjoy the annual blooms, then Nyoirinji is a pretty nice spot to pull over and enjoy the flutter of petals through the air.

Emperor Go-Daigo’s mausoleum.

 

Hase-dera (Nara)

Founded in the late 7th century in Nara Prefecture, Hase Dera is one of the premier temples devoted to Kannon, the Bodisattva of Compassion. It is a temple devoted to the Shingon sect of Buddhism and is the head temple to the Bunzan school of Shingon. It is home to one of the largest wooden Buddhist statues in Japan, a 12 meter tall (about 40 feet) statue of Kannon. Legend has it that a monk came across an exceptionally large tree in the woods and had enough wood not only to make the venerated statue at Hase-dera in Nara, but had enough to carve a second statue wich was tossed into the sea with a prayer for it to resurface where it was needed most. After 15 years, it washed up in Kanagawa Prefecture, just south of Tokyo. A temple, also named Hase-dera, was constructed in the city of Kamakura to house the statue where it resides today.

For the casual: 7. For the educated: 9.

I love this temple. Ok, now I feel even better. Hase-dera is temple eye candy for anyone interested in the concept of a hidden beauty. Not too far of a train ride from Abe Monjuin in the city of Sakurai, Hase-dera is a bit of a different beast. For one, it has grandeur. Hase-dera has a full build up as you walk from the station over to the temple. From the station, visitors climb down the fights of stairs through traditonal housing until the creek. From there you follow the creek upstream into a maze of very old town houses and stores that fill your senses with fresh baked treats, incense, and ceremonial trinkets. Before long, you can see the base of the temple and that’s when the beauty of it all finally begins to sink in. Unlike most temples or sites of worship, Hase-dera is not on one level of elevation, rather the entirety of the temple, apart from the main gate, is stretched up and across the hillside, connected only by a series of covered stairways which resemble a great tree with its branches baring the fruit of beautiful temple halls.

Trust me when I say I could go on and on about how visually striking this temple is. But that’s also the thing, the architecture of this temple isn’t anything particularly special or extraordinary, rather it’s all about how the temple moves through the mountainous terrain and embraces its surroundings to become something even more. The view from the main hall’s balcony alone warrants the trip into this countryside town. For greater visual stimulation, please consider visiting in autumn or spring for the cherry blossoms or the changing of colors.

I’ll leave you with this story from the time I was there. I was at Hase-dera just following New Years and the weather was perfect. The air was cold and crisp, the sky was crystal clear, and the smell of wood and incense was intoxicating. I was with my best friend and we were both going on and on about how this temple and its sister temple in Kamakura were able to use elevation to enhance the complex and its deity beyond conventional temple design to elicit a stronger spiritual sense. As we decended the steps to the town below, a perfect light mist of snow began to fall desipite the fairly clear skies above. It was like a moment from a dream or a story which defines a moment of serene bliss. I have been counting the days until I can go back.

 

Abe Monjuin

Abe Monjuin is a temple at the southern end of Nara prefecture before the mountains of Wakayama prefecture. Founded in the 7th century, it is claimed to be one of the oldest temples in Japan. The temple is home to Monju Bosatsu, the Buddha of Wisdom, which is depicted as a wooden carving of the Buddha sitting atop the back of a great lion. With a sword in hand, Monju cuts through the ignorance in the world.

In addition to the temple's natural prominance as a premier temple of ancient Japan, Abe Monjuin is also the birthplace of famed figure Abe no Seimei, an onmyoji of the Imperial Court. Onmyoji were spiritual advisers that interpreted divinations, advised in spiritual counceling, and used wards and enchantments to ward off evil spirits. Abe no Seimei was exceedingly skilled in his duties that his family, the Abe, would be tasked with the Bureau of Onmyo until it was disbanded in the Meiji Restoration of the 19th century. Abe no Seimei quickly became a legend following his death and many of his deeds were embellished with spiritual overtones. For example, it was said that his affinity for divination was due to his mother, a fox whom his father had saved from a hunt and in tern she turned into a human and bore him a son. This means that Seimei was part yokai, or part mystic beast if you will, and therefore was also skilled at controling other yokai to do his bidding. Likely none of this is true, but the niche that Abe no Seimei occupies is the legends of Japan means that Abe Monjuin is a temple of divine and auspicious association.

For the casual: 4. For the educated: 8.

Abe Monjuin is a beautiful temple in southern Nara, but that's not why I rated this temple lowly for casual visitors. The temple takes some time to get to considering how far you need to travel if you're planning on visiting from somewhere like Osaka or Kyoto. With all that distance traveled, the temple really needs to have a serious visual draw to make it worth it all, but it doesn't. Abe Monjuin is far more suited to those that want to tap into the auspicious luck that the temple draws, or those who are familiar with the legends that surround the temple itself.

That being said, I don't want to snub the beauty of the temple or the images inside. The temple is small, but a hexagonal pavilion in the middle of a pond offers visitors a fairly beautiful sight. The pavilion is meant to be a center for divination, dividing the universe into its auspicious directions and the like. Inside the pavilion are some treasures of the temple on display as well as an altar to Abe no Seimei. The Hondo hall of the temple is home to the massive statue of Monju that I mentioned earlier. It was taller than I had expected and also far more beautiful. Photos of the statues are available online, but photographs indoors are prohibited. I do recommend visiting this temple for anyone who is willing to make the trip or is in the area, regardless of how I ranked the temple.

Hexagonal Pavilion in the lake.

Happy Year of the Dog with the complex in the background.