Archive for 2010
Sunday, December 12th, 2010
Part III: Toshodai-ji: T’ang Buddhist Monastery
In the final part of our series on the great temples of Nara, we look at the picturesque precinct of Toshodai-ji temple and the flowering of cultural ties that began to flourish between Japan and China during the Nara Period
Toshodai-ji's Main Hall (Kondo)
The temple of Toshodai-ji is little-known to foreign visitors, yet it played a significant role in the development of Buddhist doctrine from the second half of the 8th century AD onwards. (more…)
Tags: Emperor Shomu, Ganjin, Japan, Japanese temple, Nara, Nara Period, Ordination Platform, Toshodai-ji temple
Posted in Japan | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Part II: Todai-ji
In this the second part of my exploration of the ancient Japanese capital city of Nara, we pay a visit to the magnificent precinct of the temple of Todai-ji, the showcase and guiding force behind the imperial statewide system of Buddhist temples in 8th century Japan.
The majority of visitors to the parklands of Nara tend to gravitate towards the monumental temple precinct of Todai-ji. Most enter through the main southern gateway, which was re-built in the Chinese classical style in 1199. Inside this imposing structure stand two powerful and energetic statues of the “Kongo Rikishi”, the “Guardian Kings of the Faith”. (more…)
Tags: Buddha, Daibutsuden, Deer park, Japan, Japanese temple, Kamakura Period, Nara, Todai-ji, Vairocana
Posted in Japan | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
In this series of postings I’ll be exploring three of my favourite temple-destinations in and around Nara, a magnificent (and often overlooked) tourist destination and the former ancient capital of Japan.
Part I: Horyu-ji
The Japanese drew considerable political, religious and cultural inspiration from the peoples on the Asian mainland, not least in their adoption of Buddhism and the Chinese system writing. By the late fifth century AD, the teachings of Buddha Sakyamuni had spread from India as far the distant shores of Korea, and it is around this time that we see the first signs of Buddhism filtering into Japanese society. (more…)
Tags: Asuka Period, Buddhism, Buddhist Universe, Horyu-ji, Mount Sumeru, Nara, Nihon Shoki, Pagoda, Shotoku
Posted in Japan | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
For the Egyptians, the Temple of Karnak was known as the Ipet-Sut – the “Most Select of Places”. Even today these majestic ruins, which constitute one of the largest religious precincts ever built, reverberate with echoes of this ancient name, and a deeply sacred past. (more…)
Tags: Amenre, Egypt, Hypostyle Hall, Karnak, Luxor, Northern Wars, Seti, Temple of Karnak, War
Posted in Egypt | 3 Comments »
Monday, November 1st, 2010
To mark the launch of our updated guide to the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, Professor Ken Kitchen was kind enough to share some of his thoughts on the ancient east African kingdom of Punt and her trade with New Kingdom Egypt:
For over thirteen centuries (c. 2500-1170 B.C.) the Egyptian record bears witness to the existence of a territory and people located in east Africa whose name is usually rendered as ‘Punt’ in most modern writings. (more…)
Tags: aromatics, Deir el-Bahari, Egypt, frankincense, Hatshepsut, myrrh, Punt, Red Sea, trade
Posted in Egypt | 19 Comments »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
The Periplus Maris Erythraei (Circumnavigation of the Red Sea)
It was only whilst discussing the location of what the ancient Egyptians called “God’s Land”, or Punt, that I was introduced to the Periplus Maris Erythraei. Although the term “Erythraei” translates as the “Red Sea”, for the Greeks it also included the Persian Gulf and the western part of the Indian Ocean. The original text of this unique document was written by an anonymous Egyptian Greek merchant in the middle of the first century AD. Its content now only survives through a manuscript in the Heidelberg’s Universitäts Bibliothek, which was copied at the beginning of the 10th century. (more…)
Tags: Egypt, frankincense, India, Indian Ocean, maritime trade, Periplus Maris Erythraei, Punt, Red Sea, Southern Arabia, Tanzania, trade
Posted in Egypt | 2 Comments »
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
Ginkaku-ji – The Shogun’s Silver Pavilion Paradise
Leaving the temple precinct of Nanzen-ji in central Kyoto, I headed north on foot along the pretty canal-side path that is now more famously known as the Philosopher’s Walk. Come springtime, this delightful walkway is one of the city’s most popular venues for hanami, or cherry blossom viewing parties. This early in the morning the path was eerily quiet, though pleasantly so, allowing me ample time to reflect on my memorable visit the previous day to Kinkaku-ji and its fabulous “Golden Pavilion”. My plan was to arrive at Ginkaku-ji, the “Temple of the Silver Pavilion”, in plenty of time to beat the crowds and to absorb the beauty of its gardens in peaceful solitude.
(more…)
Tags: Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Ginkaku-ji, Japan, Japanese garden, Japanese temple, Kyoto, shogun, Silver Pavilion
Posted in Japan | 6 Comments »
