Morning Serenity at Zenkoji Temple

Time check: 5:30 AM. We just arrived at Nagano station. It's still too early so now where to?

Because it's my first time (or probably for my other friends as well) in Nagano station, I suggested to have a morning walk to a nearby temple. Apparently, if you walk 20 minutes, you'd reach a famous and a large temple. Oh great, so we won't have to worry about tourists at this time of the day.

Entering the temple grounds soon

A few minutes walk (not 20 minutes for sure!), we reached Zenkoji Temple (善光寺), one of the important temples in Japan.

It holds a significant object - the rumored first Buddhist statue brought to Japan named hibutsu (secret Buddha). Interestingly, the original statue is never showed to the public, even the chief priest hasn't seen it. There's a copy of it though which is shown to the public every 6 years. It was last displayed on Spring 2022 so the next is expected to be on Spring 2028.

We're here at the temple gate!

It was February 2024, another cold winter day, when we arrived at the grounds of the temple. As expected, we didn't see the replica of the statue nor we entered the main hall. At that time, we didn't really know what to see in the temple but since we're killing time to our next destination, might as well explore the temple.

The outer gate of the temple is called Niomon Gate, guarded on both sides by Nio guardians. They looked frightening as always but I think it's fair. If I keep looking at them for few minutes, fear in my heart starts to build up though. 😅

lanterns

lanterns on the other side

Actually the reason why I wanted to come here was to see the lantern illumination. Being an "illumination", it's expected to be at night but maybe very early morning worked too so I was hoping for it a bit. Obviously the sun had risen when we arrived at the temple so there's no way to see the illumination. But it wasn't unfortunate because we saw the lanterns on the street which still made my day.

Very early so the shops were still closed

Before reaching the main hall of the temple, it's as if a small town was created around the temple. Temple town? Maybe. Nakamise (meaning a street full of shops lining up to the temple in the temple grounds) perhaps. There were some shops preparing for the day and by the time we exited, some were already opened. There were also small temples or shrines within the area. I imagined it to be lively in the middle of the day.

Rokujizo

A short walk further and we found the Rokujizo (six Jizo), large enough to attract our attention. I am not familiar with Buddhism and Jizos but I know each one symbolizes something. Does anyone know?

Sanmon Gate

Description of the Sanmon Gate

the back of the inner gate

We soon reached the inner gate called Sanmon Gate, and a very close proximity now to the main hall.

the main hall over there

Around the main hall, there were lots of areas that were restricted for access. Some were probably improvements of the temple but some were the snow that piled up from the recent snowfall.

I kept forgetting the Japanese name of this area in the temple where you cleansed yourself before proceeding to the main hall.

the main hall

The incense burner was in front of the main hall, very visible.

main hall

Did you know that the main hall of Zenkoji is Japan's National Treasure? So cool, right? Just look at that wooden architecture. It is said that it was rebuilt from the Edo period. They maintained the glory for many years already!

the main hall on one side

We heard prayers from the main hall so we were careful not to disturb the serenity of the place and their prayers. Some visitors were inside so we didn't bother coming close or else they might drag us inside. 😅

The temple grounds were spacious. It seemed like every corner, there's a sight to see.

Path on the east side

Stone lanterns

Bell tower

We found the bell tower hidden behind stone lanterns. The setup looked like it's for construction so we didn't go close to the tower.

me at the back area of the temple

While I was waiting for my companions on their toilet break, I noticed there's a path at the back inviting us for a discovery. It seemed like there were more stone lanterns here. And as we further walked, we found some stone sculptures that looked like for the departed.

at the back of the main hall

Walking in the wet snow

It's snowy here at the back of the main hall. There's an area that looked like a garden but now it's full of snow so we couldn't sit and take a break.

Eventually we found the Chureiden Pagoda, a war memorial Pagoda. Inside the Pagoda was the Zenkoji History Museum, which requires an admission ticket to enter. We didn't enter but it would have been a quick history field trip if we did.

From the west side of the main hall, there were halls that were also important and grand. The Kyozo, the Sutra Repository hall which is designated as important cultural property, can be found in this area as well.

As we kept exploring, we found ourselves in front of the main hall again. I couldn't forget a good memory around here because we were blessed to see the high priest bestowing blessings to the people while they were on the ground almost sitting or maybe crouching. I think there's a specific term for this pose but I don't really know.

Omikuji corner

Before leaving, I made sure to drop by the temple shop to get my fortune. @itz.inno joined me in getting omikuji (paper fortune). It wasn't the usual picking from a see-through container but taking a stick from a wooden box. There should be a corresponding number in the small cabinet in front, open it and take a piece of paper. That should be your fortune.