An Old Temple in my Neighbourhood

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Shinpachi, forgive a foreigner's ignorance but the emperor is no longer considered divine?
was that not changed after WWII by McArthur?
and as uual the pictures are beautiful as always. beautiful detail and so well maintained
 
Thanks GG and Mike!

I was going to withhold my post till I am ready to upload next my photos but, Mike, your question is so interesting that I can't wait

Under such situation that the emperor and his family's living expenses had been controlled by samurai, no one thought he was divine until 1867 at least when the revolutionary army, later Imperial Japanese Army, placed him as the national symbol, no, as their formal leader though he did not lead the revolution.

He is, of course, not considered devine any longer now after the ww2.

Thanks for your good question!

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Photo: Emperor Meiji (1852-1912)
 

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It may be hard for you to believe but this modest building was emperor's residence of bed room and living room behind the main building. His situation in Tokyo seems not so much improved today though.

Some dolls show how they lived.



 
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His dining room.

The caption says
"Otsune-goten ni-no-ma
A dining room
Facing to the south, an emperor had dinner served by court ladies.
On August 16 an emperor had a fine view of Bon fire "Daimonji" in the east mountainside from this room."




The third photo shows "Daimonji" Bon fire.
 

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Shinpachi- In the west we think of an emperor as being a ruler but it seems that in Japan he was more of a priest of Shinto while the shogunate who had military power actually ruled
 
Yes, he was and is, Mike.

He is a descendant of the founder of Japan with no political power and stands on the top of all priests of Shintoism to gather respects with his honest poverty from the Japanese people.

Wow I have said that!
Thanks.

 
And very well said, it is just a difference in how we here in the west look at things. emperors here were political rulers and high priests were religeous leaders. there were times when one or the other took some of the others power but the lines were usually fairly stable
 
In the early 60's I was in the US Navy. I traveled to the Far East to meet the USS Yorktown, CVS 10. I flew from Travis AFB in California, to Hawaii, then to Wake Island, then finally to Tachikawa (?) AFB in Japan. From their by bus to Sasebo (?) Naval Station. I was there in March, still a little cold. In the barracks, on television one night was the Lone Ranger. I had to laugh out loud, as he came into the picture, music playing, Silver reared up on it's hind legs, and out came "hiyako Silversan". It just killed us.

Japan is one place I would dearly love to visit again, this time a real visit. But I want to experience some of the living masters of the arts. Sword making, paper making, and calligraphy. I studied western calligraphy for many years, and taught in the adult education system for years.

Thank you for sharing these delightful pictures of a temple I think you are very proud of. Bill
 
Thank you very much for enjoying my photos, Mike and Bill.

When I was young, I was not interested in those temples and shrines so much but the older I get, the more I am interested in them. I don't know why exactly.
My friends say "You have simply got old and that's all."

You have nice hobbies Bill!
I envy you as I'm not a good writer
 
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Shinpachi said:
Thank you very much for enjoying my photos, Mike and Bill.

I envy you as I'm not a good writer
Click to expand...

You need only to be understood, and we understand you loud and clear.

You are not old, just have gained an appreciation for what is around you. There is a Japanese garden at Cowra in New South Wales here in Australia. It happens to be where Japanese were interred during WWII. There was a breakout by the prisoners and many died on both sides. My wife and I visited the site, the garden and the cemetery. The cemetery is kept up beautifully. The garden is a copy of one in Japan and is the most beautiful place. I wonder if it can be found on google? Bill
 
Honest poverty.

No one would have ever introduced this kind of ugly picture of the palace before but this is reality.
No budget to repair.





 

Hi Bill. Look no further then this forum mate
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/japanese-war-cemetry-15179.html
 
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