Kyoto - Temples, temples, temples

When Taiwanese go on a tour of Europe they complain that it is one church after another. The European history is so complicated with religious wars and royal ascensions that it's hard to keep the big picture in perspective.

Kyoto being ancient capital of Japan/tourist town also has this problem. Although the history of Japan is simpler than Europe, it is hard to keep the numerous temples in perspective. Shinto was the original religion of Japan, kind of animistic belief with hundreds of gods, Buddhism  from India came to Japan by way of China. Most Japanese are probably Buddhist but mix the Shintoism with it. Temples are mostly Buddhist but some are Shinto. Of the different Buddhist schools, Zen Buddhism is popular in Japan.

In the previous posts about sangaku I talked about the
                     Kaisui Shrine - Buddhist
                     Kitano-tenmangu Shrine - Shinto

the other temples we visited were:
       1              Sanjusangen-do - Buddhist
        2             Rokuon-Ji(The Gold Pavilion) - Zen
         3            Kiyomizu Temple(Clear Water Temple) - Buddhist
          4           Ryoanji Temple - Zen
            5         Higashi-Honganji(The Great Eastern temple) - Buddhist
              6       Snake temple - Buddhist ?

Below are representive pictures of these 6 temples.


Sanjusangen-do, photographs of the 300+ Buddhists saints were prohibited but there were some good pictures before we entered the restricted area. This is the long hall that contains the 300+ bigger than life size statues of Buddhists saints, We can all become the Buddha, (except me).

Buddhists have an interesting attitude to "gates', a gate can let the good enter but keeps the evil from entering. Sounds like a Maxwell's Demon.

Rokuon-Ji(The Gold Pavilion) - scenic scenes some of the tree color pictures are from this temple.

 Kiyomizu Temple(Clear Water Temple) - Massive timbers were used to build this temple against the hills that surround Kyoto.

 Ryoanji Temple - Florence's pictures are better than mine, see:


https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/108617243184877093989/albums/5680756986978287313
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/108617243184877093989/albums/5681631604330461937


Higashi-Honganji(The Great Eastern temple)  these are only gates to the temple itself which is massive. Given that young people have little interest in this archaic temples who will maintain these temples? The tourist agency?

Snake temple, in the neighborhood of the Daimachi House there is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the cobra(the cobra is not indigenous to Japan), here are some of the Ema. Still mounted in the eves of the temple.

A Shinto Shrine/Temple has this kind of gate, very different from the Buddhist gate.