Melancholy Sakura

Recently I visited Hiroshima for a few days, it is one of my favourite places in Japan. I stayed just across from the Peace Park. I have written about the statues of women and children there in this blog before. But on this trip I was taken by the Cherry Blossom.  The city I live in, Kyoto, is world famous for Cherry blossom, people travel from all over the world to see it. But the Peace Park's cherry blossom was very special for me.

 

 

On previous visits to the park I have felt a wonderful atmosphere of hope. This time I could also feel that, but it also had a slightly melancholy feel on the first day. On the second it was rainy and the melancholiness had changed to sadness. In Japan sakura (cherry blossom) is a symbol of the shortness of life. In a place where so many lives were taken in such a violent and fast way, the sakura seems the perfect flower,

 

 

石像：Stone Statues at Daisho-in

At most Buddhist temples in Japan you can find stone statues. But my favourite place to see them is Daisho-in on the sacred island of Miyajima.

There are such a variety of statues there, but for me the 500 Rakan statues are the most interesting. Each of these little statues has a unique face and facial expression. In the colder months they were little hats.

But there are countless other stone statues to see there. There are also hundreds of small identical brass statues in rows. To see a picture of those follow the link to my Miyajima post.

Miyajima Post