Ishi-dōrō, Kasuga-taisha, Nara, Japan

            Nara was founded in 710 CE as Japan's first permanent capital, and even after Heian-kyō (Kyoto) became the seat of the Emperor, and hence political capital, in 794, the temples and shrines of Nara, or Nanto Shichi Daiji, remained spiritually important – Nanto (南都) even means 'the southern capital'. 
Oddly, Nara has only been a city since 1898, 29 years after the capital moved again, to Edo (Tokyo), but the eight major temples, shrines and ruins (plus Kasugayama Primeval Forest) of the 'Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara' UNESCO World Heritage Site make Nara a significant destination of pilgrimage – not least by tourists.

The most famous Shinto shrine in Nara is Kasuga-taisha, established by the Fujiwara family in 768, when the grand shrine's first kami is said to have ridden a white deer to the summit of Mikasa-yama.
This partly explains the large number of sika deer wandering Nara Park, 'sacred messengers' encouraged by tourists feeding them rice crackers – itself not entirely recommended, as they're wild animals and can be aggressive.

Another distinctive characteristic of Kasuga-taisha is the path (sandō) through the woods to the shrine, which is lined by over three thousand stone lanterns (ishidōrō/tachidōrō) like these. Attractively weathered into their surroundings and colonised by ferns and moss, they are all lit for the Setsubun Mantoro and Chugen Mantoro festivals in February and August, marking the turn of winter to spring and the turn of summer to autumn.
The lanterns are hollow, of course – the white rectangles and – I think – the circles are paper glued over apertures in the stone, featuring people's ema wishes.

More specifically, this group of lanterns stands beside the main path into the Kasuga-taisha complex, about 100 m west of the Second Torii.
   

Taken in: Japan / Nara / Byakukōjichō (show map)

Taken on: November 7, 2016

Tags:

stone

lantern

春日大社

nara

奈良市

prefecture

奈良県

kansai

関西地方

honshu

本州

japan

日本

japanese

shinto

grand

shrine

pine

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Sets appears in: • Japan: Nara

Groups appears in: • Japan Images • Shinto 　　　神道 more » • Nara ～奈良 • Temples,Shrines & Castles of Japan. ( + Deities) 日本 • 日本 Nihon Japan Japón जापान Japão Xapón « less

Camera: Canon EOS 60D, f/6.3, 1/80 sec, 35mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 60D
Lens:	EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Focal Length:	35mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	-2/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 (Windows)
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