Visiting Nara & Kyoto

Recently I visited Nara and Kyoto. A gallery of my photos can be found at Inner Capture: Japan 2024. Some photos from Todaiji and its surroundings, Mt. Kurama (Yuki-jinja as well as the Omote complex), and the Shogoin are below. Todaiji in Nara hosts the largest statue of the Buddha in Japan. Yuki-jinja is a small Shinto shrine at the base of Mt. Kurama that features two large cypress trees that are enshrined with kami. Mt. Kurama is a famous location in Japanese history, being where Minamoto no Yoshitsune received teachings from mountain goblins called Tengu. It is also where, more recently, the teachings of Reiki were revealed to its founder after a period of meditation. The Shogo-in is the seat of Hozan-ha Shugendo, and is near the old Busen complex, now the Kyoto Budo center.

This was my first trip to Japan since 2007, when I was in Tokyo for a mathematics conference and visited a Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto-ryu dojo to train, while I was still active in that art. This trip also was first and foremost for professional reasons, and the only dojo I visited was the old Busen, pictured above. People were there for Saturday afternoon Judo randori, but I arrived during their lunch break and did not get any action pictures.

There is so much to see in Kyoto; I hope to return next year.