Gessoji Temple (2004-08-03)
I am a regular shopper at Seiyu in Kichijoji (
), a K-Mart
style store. We have never taken notice of the temple directly
across the store. I don't know how many times we have walked past
the temple in the arcade and it never occurred to us to go inside and
have a look. Last time after we did our shopping at Seiyu, we
finally went to check it out.The temple is called Gessoji, translated into Moon Window Temple, a
very romantic name. It is relatively small with just a couple of
buildings on the premise. There is a cemetery right next to the
temple which explains all those wooden buckets on a shelf on the other
side of the temple. Visitors often carry water in those buckets
to water plants and fill vases on the graves. They also pour water
over wooden planks on tombstones.
The day we visited the temple there were just a few students
chatting quietly in a corner and another couple playing with their
puppy under a tree. The whole place was serene and
sedative. I didn't dare talk with KL in fear I might break the
tranquility. While it's hustling and bustling outside the temple
under the roofed arcade, it's absolutely quiet and peaceful within the
temple ground. Two worlds seperated by just a wall.
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