We had Ohigan ( a Buddhist event) a couple of weeks ago. During the Ohigan, Japanese people visit their ancestors' graveyards to pay their respects. So, my husband and I visited his father's grave. After that, we picked up my parents, and the four of us visited my mom's ancestor's grave together.
First, we had lunch at a soba (Japanese noodle) restaurant.
My mom was born and raised in Kyoto. Her grandparents (my great-grandparents) bought a graveyard in Koudai-ji, one of the most famous temples in Kyoto. The temple was built by Kitano mandokoro, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the most well-known samurai of the Sengoku period. Since the location is very close to another famous temple, Kiyomizu-dera, many tourists visit both temples every day.
Since we are danka (a family that supports the temple ), we can enter the temple for free whenever we want .
It's really special to have a family grave in such a famous temple, but reaching there is quite challenging because it's always crowed. I think it's a bit dangerous for elderly people like my parents to go there. That's why I've been supporting them.
When we get there, a cherry tree was in full bloom. I think it was kawazu-zakura (a type of early-blooming cherry tree ). Kawazu-zakura always starts blooming before other cherry blossoms.
If you want to enter the temple, you need to buy a ticket. The temple has a beautiful Japanese garden, a tea house and a small museum. When I was in Italy, I visited Cathedral of Milan. It had two entrances: one for visitors and the others for church members. There was a long line for visitors, but fortunately, I was with my Italian friends. So, I could enter without waiting in the long line. Koudai-ji has a similar system. We are danka, so we can skip the long line and enter for free.
When you enter, there are two paths: the left one leads to the cemetery, and the right one is for sightseeing.
The picture below shows the gravestone of my grate-grandparents and my grandparents on my mom's side. It was built in 1927, 98 years ago.
I usually enjoy walking around the beautiful Japanese garden after praying, but unfortunately, I didn't have enough time that day. I had to take care of my grandson after his nursery school until his parents finished their work.
When I visit there next time, I’ll definitely take time to explore the garden.
(4839)
Thanks for sharing this experience with us, Yumi!
I have a question regarding graveyards. I don't remember if I asked it before but here it is: Why do you have graveyards if you have bodies cremated?
Hi, DD. Thank you for reading and commenting!
It's a part of our tradition, and after cremating, we keep the ash inside of the graves. Thank you for asking.
That looks like a beautiful temple. It must be interesting to have your family gravesite also be part of a tourist attraction.
@Ersatzjello Thank you for reading! Exactly! When you get the area, visit the temple. If you like ( I'm not sure if you are interested in old Japanese gravestones), you see my grandparents grave when you go to the sight seeing path. The tallest one is the grave.