SéjourS à Kyoto: Le chemin de la philosophie

Cette semaine, il a fait super beau. Vu que l'on devait attendre les prototypes, on en a profité pour se promener sur le chemin de la philosophie.

Et j'ai trouvé mon temple préféré !! Je pense que je vais me convertir ;-) (C'est pour rire, Mami !!!)

Il s'agit du temple Otoyo, que j'ai rebaptisé le temple de la petite souris.

Tout d'abord, il se situe au calme loin de toute circulation, au pied de la montagne.

Il y a une très beau prunier en fleur et un joli petit chien (je ne sais pas trop ce que c'est, mais il a une tête sympa koma inu en japonais). J'avais déjà fait pas mal de photos il y a deux ans.

(Shrine dogs are mythical guardian statues shaped as animals. They are usually found in “a-hum” pairs : one “a” dog with an open mouth and one “hum” dog with a closed mouth. This concept came from Sanskrit in India. “A” is the sound of opening a mouth and “hum” is the sound of closing it. In esoteric Buddhism “a” also symbolizes the beginning of things and “hum” symbolizes the end. Moreover, “a” is the root of the universe and “hum” is the virtue of the wisdom that everything returns to its source. Originally the “a” shrine dog statue would stand facing you on your right; it had the features of a lion and had no horns. The “hum” statue on your left would be essentially a dog with a horn (some dogs have no horns). )

Sur l'autel du temple, il y a un petit tonneau de sake !! Je pense que c'est une offrande ce qui prouve que le dieu a bon goût !! ;-)

Sur le côté il y a un autel protégé par des souris :-)

Otoyo Shrine is a small place of worship which is located on the south side of Kyoto’s Tetsugaku no Michi (Philosopher’s Path). Here, instead of shrine dogs, mice guard the shrine. Why mice? Here’s the background story: First, you need to know that in Otoyo Shrine, Okuninushi-no-mikoto, the god of marriage based in Izumo Taisha (a major shrine in Shimane Prefecture), is worshiped as a deity. He was a descendant of Susanoo-no-mikoto, one of the gods in Japanese myths.

According to the Kojiki, which is the oldest historical book in Japan, Okuninushi went to another world. He arrived there and met Princess Suseri, daughter of Susanoo. They fell in love with each other at first sight. Then Susanoo commanded Okuninushi to sleep in a room filled with snakes, but Princess Suseri gave Okuninushi a snake scarf, said to be one of ten ancient treasures. The scarf helped him to sleep safely in the room. Susanoo imposed another ordeal on Okuninushi. Susanoo shot an arrow into a vast plain and made Okuninushi go to retrieve it. When he was searching for it, Susanoo set fire to the surrounding plain. The flames spread quickly and Okuninushi lost all means of escape. Suddenly a mouse appeared and told him that there was a hole in the ground. While he was hiding in the hole, the fire passed overhead. Then, the mouse gave him the arrow. Thanks to the mouse, Okuninushi escaped by a hair’s breadth. He finally married Princess Suseri.

Otoyo Shrine traces its origins back to this story. It is said that mice will bring the health, long life and happiness. The mouse statue on the left has a sake bowl, which means that if you worship here you will have a healthy baby. The one on the right has a scroll.