A grand cemetery
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Konkai Komyo-ji (1175), also known as Kurodani, is a large Jodo sect temple on Mt. Yoshida just south of Shinnyodo temple. The spacious precincts hold numerous sub-temples and a large cemetery on the hill to the east, which affords a good view of the city below. At sunset the chanting of monks can often be heard from the main hall which holds a statue of the founder, Honen. A three-storied pagoda and an imposing gate are also worthy of note.
Such as London's gothic masterpiece, Highgate Cemetery, and Paris' Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Kurodani's crumbling array of tombs and statues are both mesmerizing and beautiful in a macabre sense. In the cool shadow of Mt. Yoshida's forest, the cemetery sweeps about the pagoda and down the hillside to the very edge of Kurodani's main hall. At the very foot of the mountain, below the grand gate, rests the calm and secluded Okazaki Shrine and Okazaki Temple. | ||
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