From northern Yokohama,
Japan
Shogakuji, a Buddhist temple in Tsuzuki ward, Yokohama
(Submitted on April 15, 2012)
Strolling for about five minutes on a pleasant pathway that stretches to the east from the Yokohama city subway’s Center Minami station, you will find Shogakuji on your right. This temple belongs to a “Tendaishu” Buddhist sect which was founded by “Saicho” in 806, after he had studied in Tang China.
The main gate of Shogakuji. I took this photograph on February 4, this year. Inside, you will notice a monument that says, during the last months of WWII, school children took refuge from air raids in the temple
The temple has a beautiful garden noted for calami, in purple and white, from May to June and hydrangeas in June.
Interestingly, a small Shinto shrine stands on the same premises. Some might ask: how is it possible for them to coexist? In essence, an enshrined Shinto god assumed the role of guarding the Buddhist temple, reflecting the fusion of the two religions that lasted for centuries.
