The Surprising Continuity of the Past - Mickey Mouse & Prayer Lanterns

 
Mostly I recollect the past as a series of episodes, a kind of laid down mezair. As in the case of old photo albums, holidays take up disproportionate space. But contemplating these photos, this vintage '50's version of pinball,  one of a series in a little stall run by an ancient women on the way into the Shintennoji Temple, and then those from within the temple grounds, suggests otherwise.

This lovely temple in Tokyo, the first established Buddhist temple in Japan, was founded in 593 by Prince Shotoku.  Inside the temple you must listen to the monk  intoning  prayers to the dead, in the glorious acoustic space of the temple. Outside, in the open cloister, the linked prayer lanterns,each with its seperate message but connected to all the others, in time, and, by night, in light, creates a clear message about continuity.


The Temple Dragon, a gloriously wild exurburance.


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