A couple of photos from my trip to Nara

I took these pictures while I was visiting the 大仏殿 (Daibutsu Den), which houses a giant bronze Buddha image almost 40 meters tall.

The day started fairly early. We got there around 0900 or so. One thing I noticed immediately about Nara is the enourmous amount of deer all over the place. For more than a thousand years, man has been prohibited to hunt these deer. In fact, they are quite wild, but very friendly towards us for this reason. I don't think they percieve us as predators at all. People even set up stands where they make traditional deer-feeding cakes for sale. The deer obligingly sit and stand around these stalls, waiting to be fed.

This fine fellow was waiting just outside the station. There was a cake vendor not 5 feet from him.

These deer were found on the final approach to the Great Southern Gate.

As we approach the Daibutsuden from the south, the first thing we'll see is the 南大門 or "Great Southern Gate", which is five or six stories tall, made completely of unpainted wood, and has stood there since the 12th century. You'll notice that the view through the gate allows you to see the roof of the daibutsuden. My impressions of this gate were of it's mass and the idea that you are definitely crossing into a sacred area.

This is the 南大門. Made completely of wood, it stands six to seven stories tall.

Here, we are standing in the Great Southern Gate, looking towards the Middle Gate and the Temple beyond. Those twin golden fishtails on the roof are almost 20 feet tall.

Once we pass through here, we'll begin to approach the 中門 or "Middle Gate." This gate is much smaller than the Nandaimon, yet still massive enough in its own right to completely block the view of the Daibutsuden behind it. The idea was that you'd approach, thinking that the Daibutsuden must be pretty small, only to be shocked at it's sheer size when you pass through the middle gate. Pretty interesting architecture if I do say so myself.

This is the 中門 or Middle Gate. As you can see, it's set up to completely obscure the giant building behind it. This gate is actually much smaller than the original, which was almost as big as the Great Southern Gate.

Here we have the view that a visitor from long ago might have had. I put the camera between two of the fenceposts. Unfortunately, they don't let us in this way anymore.

After we pay our ¥500 entrance fee, we walk down the 回廊 or gallery. This lets us get the view from the other side of the middle gate, where we can see a massive incense burner. After making a small donation, I lit some incense for good luck.

Buddha-incense smells really nice. I have a small package that I'll bring home with me. I donated a little money and lit a stick of my own. You are supposed to waft the smoke over yourself to get the good luck it provides.

Let's go look at the front of the Daibutsuden now. That giant bronze lantern is not the original, unfortunately. The original had deteriorated pretty badly by the 1970's, so they tried to make as perfect a copy as possible of it so they could protect the original. The duplicate even bears the same dents, scratches, and inscriptions as the original. It houses a number of oil lamps that give it a pretty strong light at night.

Even the "small" lantern in front of the building dwarfs everyone around it. This lamp – a reproduction – was based upon the original 8th century artifact which stood here until the 1970's.

The base of the lantern is covered with inscriptions: names of those who donated money to fund the construction of this temple long ago.

The top of the lantern is covered with scenes of Bodhisatvas doing magical things like walking upon clouds and the like.

Let's go inside now, where we can see the Daibutsu itself. Pretty big eh? On each side are to Bodhisatvas, whose names I have unfortunately forgotten, but they are two or three stories high by themselves. They are made of wood that has been gilt.

The Daibutsu himself. He is much bigger than he looks.

Although I cannot remember his name, this figure is one of the more important Boddhisatvas.

This is the Boddhitsatva named Kannon. In his crown, you might notice a small figure. That figure is Amida Buddha, who is said to assist those who seek enlightenment.

You can actually walk around and behind the Daibutsu, which affords some interesting views.

Daibutsu from the side. Each of those lotus petals he is sittin upon is taller than I am.

Because people were worried about the halo being knocked over in an earthquake, they stuck in those timbers to hold it upright.

This is from directly behind Daibutsu. Those flames are the "souls" of people trying to leave samsara.

Once we leave this temple, it was time for lunch. I had rice, a wide variety or pickles, an egg salad sandwich, and jasmine milk tea. Pretty good overall.

The next stop is the 三月堂 or "Temple of March." It predates the Daibutsuden, which itself dates from the 12th century. The Temple of March dates from before the 8th century, so the building itself is over 1,500 years old. And they didn't paint the wood! The strange roof line is from the notion that they decided to join two buildings together, the main hall and the offering hall, so they would have more space.

The Temple of March from the front.

This is from the side. Notice how the old rain gutter was left in place, despite the fact that it is no longer used.

Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the Temple of March, so I cannot easily show you the beautiful treasures within.

The last stop was the 二月堂 or "Temple of February," which is where the fire festival is held every year. This festival is an awesome sight in itself. No the building is not burning down: that is a torch being moved quickly from one end of the veranda to the other. Strangely, this building has burned down many times, but never because of this fire ceremony. Always, it burned down because of lightning, or a candle or lamp going out of control. Now the place has lightning rods and electricity, so it's less likely.

To have a fire ceremony, you first take massive bamboo rods, stuff the ends with hay, light it up, and carry them up these covered, wooden stairs.

Then you stick them out over the balcony.

Run like blue blazes to the other end of the temple.

Finally shaking off the remaining hay. Repeat 12 times.

So there you have it: my trip to Nara!