A Temple & A Tower

{the view of Tokyo Tower at dusk from our patio}

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One of my favorite places to visit in Tokyo is the Zojo-ji Temple, which is a short 30 minute walk from our apartment and just steps away from the Tokyo Tower. The grounds of the temple house a mausoleum where six Tokugawa shoguns have been laid to rest, and there are rows & rows of small statues of the bodhisattva Jizo - the guardian of children who died before their parents. The temple was moved to this location in 1598 (400+ years ago!!) and is noted for the entry gate, which is the oldest wooden structure in Tokyo.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon a Buddhist ceremony and sit in while the monks chanted in the main temple on my second visit; and on my most recent, I witnessed a smaller ceremony at the hour of dusk. As I went to leave the grounds, I noticed the full moon rising over the temple gate and skyscrapers in the background, and couldn't help but feel at peace in my solitude.

{rows of the bodhisattva Jizo dressed in red and adorned with pinwheels & flowers}

{the cemetery on the grounds of Zojo-ji}


{the main temple}



{the main gate - the full moon was rising over the tall building on the left, you can see it if you look really hard...}




{the lights of the tower came on as I headed home}