Autumn magic from Nara Park, 2025

Nara Park's autumn magic comes from its diverse trees which create vibrant tapestries of red, orange, 

and yellow leaves and freely roaming deer in the backdrop of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

(Photos were taken between the 14th and the 28th of November.)

南京櫨 Nankinhaze, Chinese Tallow Tree

Chinese Tallow leaves are eye-catching along the banks of Araike Reservoir.

The slopes of Mount Wakakusa look reddish because of young Chinese Tallow trees.

椛 Momiji, or Japanese Maples

Mizuyachaya, a small, charming teahouse, is at the back entrance of Kasugataisha Shrine.

Momiji, or Japanese Maples, are rapidly turning to the shades of red.

Kasugayama Mountain Trail runs through Mt. Kasuga Primeval Forest, which is behind Kasugataisha Shrine.

The forest has remained virtually untouched because of prohibited hunting and logging since 841. 

I gave up walking it through because of the news that a bear was spotted near the trail recently.

Leaf-framed Shibi of Todaiji Main Hall

The stunning fiery reds of Japanese Maples and the reflected vibrant colors in the glass of a window

in the garden of Iraka.

The painterly reflection of Japanese Maples on the pond surface distorted by ripples

Bathed in the late afternoon sun, Japanese Maples get ablaze.

銀杏 Icho, Ginkgo Tree

A deer and brilliant yellow fan-shaped Ginkgo leaves.

桜 Sakura, Cherry Tree

Autumn leaves of Sakura trees has a specila name "Sakura Momiji".

Momiji has two meanings; one is Japanese Maples and the other is colored leaves and grasses.

At Chayam-enchi, which do you like better, pink Sakura or reddish brown or orange Sakura Momiji?

A nature's wooden sculpture that looks like a resting animal and real deer.

It will be fine tomorrow.

BTW, my son completed Kobe Full Marathon again this year

with much better record than the last year's.

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Saturday's Critters

At the Heijyo Palace Site

It has been like summer days these weeks, too warm with the temperature topping 

32 degrees C despite the early arrival of cool air one month ago.

July, 2021, was the world's hottest month on record.

I wonder how would be October?

I walked around the Heijyo Palace Site last week.

As is introduced in my post Moody weather at Heijyo Palace Site (October, 2014),

the remains of the ancient capital of Japan is a vast fields of wild grasses.

Japanese pampas grasses, ragweeds, reeds and other grasses wave in the breeze.

There are a brook and ditches I'd like to look for reflections.

The sky of the site is as spacious as the eye can reach.

In November, 2016, Blue Impulse, an aerobatic demonstration team of 

Japan Air Self-Defense Force,  flew in the skies of the old palace site.

The flight was one of the events to celebrate and commemorate the 60th year of 

the opening of the Nara Air Base.

Blue Impulse was founded in 1960.

At the opening ceremony of the Summer Tokyo Olympics, 1964,

the team performed drawing five Olympic rings with colored smoke in the sky.

The most recent performance was on the previous day of the Tokyo Olympics, 2021,

following the last year's flying over Tokyo to thank medical care workers

for their tireless efforts to fight against COVID-19.

Blue Impulse and Mt. Fuji from this Website

About one and a half hours before the sunset,

the sky was aglow rose and Japanese pampas grasses were shining.

Shukuro Manabe's Nobel Prize is seen heightened sense of crisis over climate change together with the successive intense abnormal weather worldwide.   His prediction about the future of our home Earth was made half a century ago.  The world cooperative works against the climate change looked starting years later in 1988, but have been disrupted because of the long raged controversy on whether global warming is real and whether human activities are causing the phenomenon.

Using Manabe's method, a certain abnormal climatic incident in decades can be proved that it wasn't happened without climate change. Regarding the long-term prediction, it is easy to cause skepticism with short words in people's mind even for the theory based on scientific data. On the contrary, it requires long time (with more and more evidence in the process of discovery) and elaborate explanation to prove it real.  Anyway, we lost about 30 years to tackle this issue.  It's good for the world to cooperate at last, but the sudden drastic change of policy in short term could cause energy shortage and other type of environmental destruction by random development for alternative energy.  Keep my fingers crossed for the better future guided by the wise policies improving one by one.

Today it's still hot here, 30 degrees C, but is forecasted to become autumnal in a couple of days.

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The season of Tsutsuji azaleas

Japanese Maples along a path of the ground of Toshodai-ji

Strolling around the precinct of a temple is refreshing and soothing.

Especially at this time of year when young small leaves are beautiful full of hopes.

Japanese Maple trees look adorned with green laces. 

The fresh greenery was dotted with the sparkles of  the pastel-colored Azaleas

when I walked around the temple about two weeks ago.

瓊花 Keika, Viburnum macrocephalum f. keteleeri. from the Chinese hometown of Ganjin, 

the founder of this temple,

were blooming at the silent corner of the precinct where people rarely stop by this year.

A flower of the Chinese hometown of Ganjin at Toshodai-ji

Some of the Azaleas in the precinct are "Mochi tsutsuji", Rhododendron Macrosepalum,

endemic to western Japan.

The following photos of the flowering shrub are from my garden.

The plant is a horticultural variety of Rhododendron Macrosepalum,

called "花車 Hanaguruma", Rhododendron macrosepalum cv. Hanaguruma.

I photographed the flowers bathed in different light the past weeks.

 

Before sunset

The shrub looks like a carriage decorated with flowers,

so it would have been named "Hanaguruma" meaning "flower-wagon".

Or, it is said that the flower looks like a wheel of an ox-drawn carriage of the past.

In this case, "Hanaguruma" means "flower-wheel".

In the spot light

I am the third generation to take care of this Hanaguruma

following my grandmother and my mother.

Right after the rain

Satsuki azalea flowers, Rhododendron indicum, are replacing Tsutsuji.

Tsutsuji and Satsuki really look like but the latter bloom later and have smaller flowers.

Satsuki azaleas photographed today

The rainy season called 梅雨 (Apricot rains) arrived in my region 

earlier than ever, 21 days earlier than average.

It's a shame because mid-to-end May is one of the most sunny beautiful days,

but on a positive note, I hope the hot and humid weather be helpful to make the

corona viruses less active.

If interested in lovely mountain Tsutsuji endemic to Japan, please have a look at 

Wild Azaleas at the Rokko Mountains.

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A temple for protection and well-being of the nation

In the early 8th century, Japan was going through many difficulties including a long drought, rampant thievery, political turmoil, and above all, the smallpox epidemic brought in from the continent, which reduced more than one third of population.  The 45th Emperor Shomu, a devout Buddhist, decided to unite the nation through Buddhist faith. Todai-ji (UNESCO World Heritage) was founded as the Central State Temple in 752, together with a state temple and a state nunnery in every one of the 66 provinces.

People were so sparse on June 17th, 2020.

The structure above is Nandai-mon Gate, or Great South Gate, National Treasure, rebuilt in 1203.  The 8th century original was destroyed by a typhoon in 962. It is the largest wooden temple gate suitable in scale to the existing largest wooden structure in the world, Todai-ji Buddha Hall (National Treasure) where Vairocana Buddha is enshrined.  The construction is based on timber-frame joinery, composed of several different pieces of timber. Each piece is dovetailed. It reflects Chinese Sung style architecture, a double roofed, one-story structure with no ceilings. 

Great South Gate, Inner Gate, Buddha Hall, and Lecture Hall (now ruins) stand straight on a central line of the precincts from south to north.

Buddha Hall seen through the Inner Gate

The current Buddha Hall was rebuilt in 1709.  Due to a shortage of funds and materials, the size was reduced to two-thirds of the original width, and an arch-style gable was added.

 

Back of the Buddha Hall is relics of Lecture Hall, where only foundation stones remain.

Lichen on the foundation stones, October 31st, 2020

Chinese Tallow leaves at the relics of Lecture Hall, October 31st

At one time, there were more than 100 buildings in the precincts of Todai-ji.  During the civil wars of the 12th and 16th centuries, almost all the buildings were destroyed by fire. After a fire in 1567, the Great Buddha sat in the open air for 140 years.  Only Sangatsu-do Hall, Shoso-in Repository, and Tegai-mon Gate have long survived since 8th Century. Over the years, Nigatsu-do Hall, Great Buddha Hall, Nandai-mon Gate, Belfry, etc, were reconstructed.

Since its foundation time, Todai-ji was not only a center for rituals of the nation but also a center for scholar monks to learn Buddhism beyond different schools. After Meiji Restoration, temples had to choose. Todai-ji chose Kegon.

The Kegon text says that the songs of birds, the colors of flowers, the flowing of water and the forms of clouds, are all the Vairocana Buddha's teachings, serving as divine inspiration to all living beings. 

According to one of the monks, "ke" of "ke-gon" means "flower".  "Each of us has a seed within us. Buddha is the one who has grown the seed to flower beautifully. What we are supposed to do is only to do our best to grow a seed into a flower. " 

Todai-ji Buddha Hall seen from Kasugano Park, Aprio, 2019

Kagami-ike Pond in front of Middle Gate, August, 2016

Japanese maples changing colors over the wall of Kaizan-do Hall (Founder's Hall), November, 2017

Entrance to the spacious precincts of Todai-ji is free of charge except entrance to the Great Buddha Hall.  It has its own beauty in each season. You can go any time even at midnight if only you can brave the pitch dark.  Under the circumstances, many people would have difficulty to come. When it gets possible, have a good time. 

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