| Auxiliary
Statues in the Hall of the Great Buddha |
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This is an endearing
sight to an avid butterfly watcher like myself.
Butterflies like
this one (obviously a swallowtail like some
of the butterflies I photographed in Japan) were part of the crest
of some Japanese samurai families, but I'm not sure what the exact significance
of this one is. |
| This spooky looking
statue sits outside the Hall of the Great Buddha, scaring the children!
It's pretty weather
beaten, but I'm not sure how old it is or what its significance is, since
there was no English explanation. It was a little larger than
life size.
You can just see
this statue in the first photo of the webpage showing the Hall of the Great
Buddha - walking up the right hand side of the stairs, as you get to the
top he's immediately on the right. |
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This is one of two
wooden statues inside the Hall of the Great Buddha, both about 20 feet
tall. This one was behind and on the right-hand side of the
Buddha.
Both statues represent
Heavenly Guardians, this one is called Komokuten.
Although he looks
pretty war-like, the figure is carrying a paintbrush in one hand and a
scroll in the other.
You can see in this
photograph the difficulty of getting photos inside the hall.
Parts are either too brightly lit or too dimly lit. |
| Whoomph!
That's better! I had to buy a new flash for my camera while
I was in Tokyo (I went to the electronics mecca at Akihabara), and you
can see that it does the job well. I was surprised to see even
the ceiling and beams well lit in this wide-angle photo of the same statue.
Just like the Giant Buddha, you can see how a change of angle and lighting
makes it look totally different. |
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| Here's the other
statue, on the left hand side of the Buddha.
It looks like an
orb in his right hand, and a staff in the other.
The name of this
Heavenly Guardian is Tamonten. |
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| This photo gives
a better view of the orb. The statue is pretty naturalistic,
with the fingers of his hand all at different, and awkward, angles.
You can see that it was once painted, but almost all of the paint has fallen
off., and just the gold leaf is left. |
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| This kid has it
way too easy!
Anyone who can get
through the hole in this pillar is guaranteed Enlightenment. The
hole is said to be the same width as the Great Buddha's nostril.
Aren't you glad I told you that?
If you're an adult
who wants to take this shortcut, the trick is supposed to be to get your
arms through first, and then hope that the rest of you makes it afterwards! |
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This large statue
sits on the left hand side of the Great Buddha.
She's about the same
height as the wooden statues. Perhaps it's a statue of Kannon,
the Buddhist goddess of mercy. |
| There, that's more
like
it. Somehow the front-on photos just don't convey how impressive
these statues are. |
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