Nara pics 2 (Toudaiji)

[jinian]

Me at Nandaimon, the giant gate leading to Toudaiji, the temple where the Nara Daibutsu is kept. (You may be noticing a whole lot of "dai" in all that; it means "great".) The photographer cleverly captured the tentative moment just before I discovered that it is A-OK to pet those deer, they do not give one fuck.



I cannot tell Fuujin and Raijin apart; they are the gods of wind and thunder, and traditional gate guardians, and this guy is one of them from inside Nandaimon.



The temple proper. It was near that lantern in the walkway that half a dozen schoolboys barged up to me, said gruffly HELLO, and seized my hand to shake it. I cooperated, amused. One of the boys later in line reflexively said "hajimema--" before realizing that was totally wrong and stopping in confusion. No idea why all this happened. Bragging rights from meeting the giant white woman, whose hair is a lighter color than yours, ooh?



Pond, shrine gate (as there are almost inevitably shrines inside temples), foliage.





Giant Buddha is giant. The ticket has his dimensions, including Length of Eye: 1.02m; Length of Ear: 2.54m; Height of Lotus-petal: 3.05m. He is 14.98m (48.91ft) tall.



Koumoku-ten is the Lord of the West, who is a badass scholar.

The temple also has a pillar with a hole in it through which one can (in theory) pass, which busts you out of the cycle of reincarnation. This isn't what I want -- if there is reincarnation I would like another ride, please -- plus it was chock-full of schoolchildren on a field trip.