Zojoji

On the Fourth Day, I trekked, some back-assed route, to Zojoji - I actually went up, past Tokyo Tower, down around and along the street to get there. I found out on the way back that there was a straighter, more direct route back to the apartment, but I'm sure you don't care about that.

The entrance to Zojoji.

This young lady is stationed near the entrance, opposite the bell, next to the purification fountain. See her again in the above link.

These small statues are jizo bosatusu, and are protectors of infant souls. I'm not sure who the fellow in the front is, but at first I thought it was female.

Here is one of the statues up close. They are dedicated and dressed by parents of stillborn children (and children who died young?). I chose this one because his dress differs from the typical red cap and cape. It somehow seems more personal, like perhaps his clothes belonged to the child he is now protecting in the afterlife.

After much photo shooting, a tall cold one (water, or flavored water, that is) was in order, and fortunately there was a refreshment stand on the premises. So I pulled up a chair in the shade and sucked down the bottle of lemon-flavored amino-acid water.

A few last shots before I left...

I'm not going to try to explain everything in this picture. I'll let japan-guide do the work. They were my next-bestest friend in Japan.

When you go to that page, you'll notice it's for the Shinto Shrines. Yet Zojoji is listed as being of the Buddhist Jodo Sect. Thus illustrating the meshing of the two religions in Japan.

The ceiling of the bell kiosk... thing.

From here I was on to explore, having no set destination...