The name "Yakushiji" comes from this temple complex, although it was so long ago that no one in Glen's family knows the story. His Japanese relatives live quite far away, so whatever connection might once have been in now lost. The meaning of the name is something like "the temple to Yakushi-Buddha," who is a divine healer of both bodies and souls.
Two pagodas face each other across a vast, ceremonial square. The less ornate one dates from the 8th century, while the other is a modern reconstruction.
As was true almost everywhere else we went, troops of uniformed schoolchildren were everywhere, taking one another's pictures. Two statues, both clothed with red caps and bibs mark the burial places of someone, but I couldn't tell who. They stand guard near the 12th-century Toindo Hall, which houses an ancient statue of Kannon.
A great bell hangs in the courtyard near the hondo, or main building and two fierce guardians stand eternal watch at the gate.
There is a lot more to know about this temple, but you could look all that up if you wanted to. Mostly, I found myself fantasizing about the parades and processions that must have once taken place on the great open spaces between the various buildings.
The name "Yakushiji" comes from this temple complex, although it was so long ago that no one in Glen's family knows the story. His Japanese relatives live quite far away, so whatever connection might once have been in now lost. The meaning of the name is something like "the temple to Yakushi-Buddha," who is a divine healer of both bodies and souls.
Two pagodas face each other across a vast, ceremonial square. The less ornate one dates from the 8th century, while the other is a modern reconstruction.
As was true almost everywhere else we went, troops of uniformed schoolchildren were everywhere, taking one another's pictures. Two statues, both clothed with red caps and bibs mark the burial places of someone, but I couldn't tell who. They stand guard near the 12th-century Toindo Hall, which houses an ancient statue of Kannon.
A great bell hangs in the courtyard near the hondo, or main building and two fierce guardians stand eternal watch at the gate.
There is a lot more to know about this temple, but you could look all that up if you wanted to. Mostly, I found myself fantasizing about the parades and processions that must have once taken place on the great open spaces between the various buildings.
