Divine intercession

The Nezu shrine is one of the more prominent heritage sites in Tokyo. While it can be sidestepped in importance by places like Meiji Jingu-wait Meiji... Oh yeah Meiji. That's what I was gonna talk about today.

A century after the location of the shrine was moved to where it is today, during the Meiji Restoration, the Emperor moved the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo. He sent envoys to Nezu Shrine, further deepening the shrine's significance in the modern world. If it was chosen by one of the most prominent of Japan's leaders then clearly it had to have been worth something. (That and religious significance, I talk a lot about the enshrining here of Susanoo in the previous Nezu post).

Just as Meiji seeked divine intervention here, it is an almost eerie coincidence that I was here in the drumming rain shooting a shrine dedicated to the god of water (or sea I guess). Fate was with me. I was admiring the red gate along the property wondering how I could turn it into a composition. On the other side of the koi pond turned out to be the ideal spot. I didn't even notice the sakura peaking out until I came back to process this, there were quite a lot of colors in the shot. Honestly wonder what this would look like in Autumn with yellow trees, could maybe look even better.

But I'll tell you what was not a divine intercession. Flickr crashing for the entire first half of the day, now this shot is not gonna do well at all. To hell with amazon for causing this.

Done