Temple or Shrine, Buddhist or Shinto?

On our last day in Kyoto we visited Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples with our guide, Uta.  The majority of Japanese seem to have a happy acceptance of both religions.  Shinto, the indigenous religion focuses on the present and the spirits present in nature from rocks to the sky to animals, including humans.

At Shinto shrines you may make a wish (prayers) but you must be modest and humble.  As Uta said, wish for a Toyota not a Mercedes.  You won’t find graves at a Shinto shrine because that is a future concept, not the present.

At Buddhist temples we were encouraged to pray.  The focus at the temples is your life after this one and reaching enlightenment. So for celebrating and marriage—Shinto.  For farewell to a loved one—Buddhism.  Pretty comprehensive system!

The Fushimi Inari Takisha (Gates) are a Shinto Shrine in Kyoto.  It is most impressive.  I really wanted to see it and it is magnificent!  Inari is the god of rice, sake, and prosperity.  Foxes are the messengers of Inari and are considered to be helpful.  So that little guy who wanders around our golf course should be treated well as he predicts prosperity for us.

From the Fushimi Gates we made a quick visit to the Gion district.  We were treated to a glimpse or two of Geisha and a Maiko (apprentice geisha).  It is a truly astounding career choice.

Finally dinner at Gyu Gyu for a wonderfully fresh and enjoyable meal—Cesar salad, sliced tongue, steak with sauces, a side dish of shrimp, broccoli, and mushrooms.  All accompanied by a chilled white wine.  This was followed by a cab ride back to the hotel, dessert, and a sake toast!

Tomorrow— Hanoi!

The World According to Dennis:
Well, today was temple and shrine day.  To give you a little background on Denny Baby, I consider myself  “a little” spiritual with religion following at a distant second.  So distant, in fact, you could reasonably say it is nonexistent.  That being said the temples and shrines were interesting.  Our guide, Uta gave us a brief history of Shintoism (shrines) and Buddhism (temples) and thier basic tenets.  See Cindy’s above for more detail.  Suffice it to say I’ve always had a problem with a religion or a god that punishes you when you’re naughty and rewards you when you’re nice,  I leave that to Santa.  Hope I haven’t lost all of my readers with that quip.  All in all I enjoyed our 4 hour walking tour in Kyoto.  We think we logged about five miles and were the only Americans (trying not to be “ugly) in the group.  As Cindy wrote, “We topped off the evening with a great meal, a bit of alcohol, and then dessert back at our hotel with a small bottle of sake.  Tomorrow we’re up at 3:30 AM for a two hour van ride to the airport and a flight to Hanoi.

Good Morning, Vietnam!