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Words-and-Pictures: Kyuenji

Note: This selection of Words-and-Pictures was made on September 23, 2001, as I walked on the Old Tokaido.

Kyuenji is located between Kanaya and Nissaka in Shizuoka Prefecture, which are Stations #24 and 25 respectively (from Tokyo) on the Old Tokaido Highway. You can read about my visit to this small temple, and the legend of its stone, in my Logbook.

A grumpy-looking foreign pilgrim sits in front of Kyenji's candidate for the "Night Weeping Stone." Read about the legend--and the controversy--in my Logbook.



To be honest, I don't know much about this temple. Ieyasu stopped here--for tea--on his way to the decisive battle at Sekigahara. The Night Weeping Stone lives here. It's a darned purdy place. That's about it for words (with the exception of the last caption). Enjoy the pictures.







It's unusual to see this guy in a temple; he's usually found hanging out in schoolyards. He's Sontoku Ninomiya, also called Kinjiro. Born in Kayama--an area of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture--he grew up to found a Confucian philosophical movement that advocated hard work and filial piety. He is often shown thus, reading a book while carrying wood on his back. A shrine dedicated to him is on the grounds of Odawara Castle. (And, I have seen his statue in front of a bank in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles!)




Posted October 1, 2019

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