While biking to the Toshimaen Farmer's Market, we decided to take a different route. My husband stopped his bike to check the map on his phone to make sure we were going in the right direction. When he stopped, I looked around and saw an old building peeking through from behind two modern ones. I pointed it out and told him "I love seeing how old and new are woven together into a fabric that makes Japan."
He either recognized the building or saw it on the map, either way he told me we were standing next to a temple-run daycare and the building I was pointing out was the temple. We decided to check it out.
My son is surprisingly excited about going to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Since I also enjoy it, I'm so grateful to have his eagerness to check out spiritual locations. I find both places to have a certain calmness on the sacred grounds. As soon as I step through the gates or under the torii, I feel a sense of calmness, much like I feel in a yoga practice.
Jufukuji Temple is a small temple right next to the Toshimaen theme park. It is a place to go and ask for healing and health.
We wandered up to the main building to ask for blessings. The doors were slightly ajar. Inside the temple was beautifully adorned in gold. Tatami covered the floor and low, backless seats were set up for some sort of ceremony.
I don't know why, but there was a statue of a mother carrying a child on her back on the temple grounds. The sight of the statue made me smile, as I thought of all the times I carried my son on my back.
I didn't investigate very much. I simply enjoyed the little excursion of seeing something beautiful, taking a cleaning breath, and taking a moment to reflect on my desire for health. In the US, my car would be taking me too fast to be able to notice something like this. But here, I am able to take it all in.
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