It's the season of leaf watching. This is an actual thing that Japanese people have a name for. The leaf-watching event - I don't know the name. Don't assume it's dull till you've seen the leaves in Japan. They're smaller and the colours are more intense than the leaves back home. It was really quite splendid as the Buddhist monks have devoted their lives to creating the proper setting for leaf-watching, which is essentially what they're doing by creating an architecture that's in proper harmony with nature. The paths among the trees are mossy, and old carved stones festoon the hillsides. Round the rugged rocks no ragged rascals ran, but lichens, mosses and rich, dark soil made a carpet or a living tapestry out of the ground. I've posted one picture of one small part of this temple complex, which runs up a mountainside and includes several structures, whose use and history I do not know and can only assume.
The ritual cleansing of the hands at the temple. (notice the fish in the pond!)
click on the pictures to enlarge them
I will post another picture when I get the opportunity, because these images are amazing.
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