Shinjuku_2019 05 13_2885
Kongōrikishi are usually a pair of figures that stand under a separate temple entrance gate usually called Niōmon (仁王門) in Japan. The right statue is called Misshaku Kongō (密迹金剛) and has his mouth open, representing the vocalization of the first grapheme of Sanskrit Devanāgarī (अ) which is pronounced "a". The left statue is called Naraen Kongō (那羅延金剛) and has his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī (ह [ɦ]) which is pronounced "ɦūṃ" (हूँ). These two characters together (a-hūṃ/a-un) symbolize the birth and death of all things. (Men are supposedly born speaking the "a" sound with mouths open and die speaking an "ɦūṃ" and mouths closed.) / Naruko Tenjin Shrine (成子天神社), founded in 903 according to legend, is a Shinto shrine located near the skyscraper district. This shrine is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane (845 - 903), a politician and scholar who is widely worshiped in Japan as a god of learning. Though the shrine complex is a post-war reconstruction made with concrete, the shrine is neatly maintained like a garden. Hand pump is located in front of Sui Jingu, a small shrine enshrining a divinity of water. Fuji-zuka is a mound which was created to worship Mt Fuji. It is covered with lava rock conveyed from the foot of the mountain. The Shrine is located through an alley off Ome-kaido Avenue, across the street from Tokyo University Hospital / Shinjuku (新宿区Shinjuku-ku) is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. Like the other special wards of Tokyo, Shinjuku has a status equivalent to that of a city. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration centre for the government of Tokyo. Since the end of World War II, Shinjuku has been a major secondary center of Tokyo, rivaling to the original city center in Marunouchi and Ginza.
Shinjuku_2019 05 13_2885
Kongōrikishi are usually a pair of figures that stand under a separate temple entrance gate usually called Niōmon (仁王門) in Japan. The right statue is called Misshaku Kongō (密迹金剛) and has his mouth open, representing the vocalization of the first grapheme of Sanskrit Devanāgarī (अ) which is pronounced "a". The left statue is called Naraen Kongō (那羅延金剛) and has his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī (ह [ɦ]) which is pronounced "ɦūṃ" (हूँ). These two characters together (a-hūṃ/a-un) symbolize the birth and death of all things. (Men are supposedly born speaking the "a" sound with mouths open and die speaking an "ɦūṃ" and mouths closed.) / Naruko Tenjin Shrine (成子天神社), founded in 903 according to legend, is a Shinto shrine located near the skyscraper district. This shrine is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane (845 - 903), a politician and scholar who is widely worshiped in Japan as a god of learning. Though the shrine complex is a post-war reconstruction made with concrete, the shrine is neatly maintained like a garden. Hand pump is located in front of Sui Jingu, a small shrine enshrining a divinity of water. Fuji-zuka is a mound which was created to worship Mt Fuji. It is covered with lava rock conveyed from the foot of the mountain. The Shrine is located through an alley off Ome-kaido Avenue, across the street from Tokyo University Hospital / Shinjuku (新宿区Shinjuku-ku) is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. Like the other special wards of Tokyo, Shinjuku has a status equivalent to that of a city. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration centre for the government of Tokyo. Since the end of World War II, Shinjuku has been a major secondary center of Tokyo, rivaling to the original city center in Marunouchi and Ginza.