JAPAN BONUS 1: Gion Cemetery

One of the places on the agena for Kyoto was Gion Cemetery.  Words can barely describe the
place, but I'll try.  Photos do no justice, but they help.

The cemetery is nestled in with all of the ancient and beautiful Gion temples and shrines, and
it backs up to some densely wooded mountains behind it.  This cemetary is just as remarkable
as Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, but in a completely different way.  The weather in Kyoto was
warm, humid, swampy and rainy.  While this was hard for me to deal with (I hate heat, and humidity
especially) it did make for some nice low contrast photography.  However, the sky was totally grey-
white/light blue, which made getting a good exposure somewhat challenging.

 

Giant walking stick I almost stepped on. Don't worry, I moved it out of harms way.






























 

Linda holding a "witch's broom" which was in the cemetery. The Japanese treat there dead not as we do.
That is, they are not simply put in the ground and forgotten. The head stones are washed regularly and the
cemetery cleaned up.  While we were there, we witnessed at least 3 separate parties cleaning headstones.
We also met a very nice, talkative old woman who we think told us she climbs 80 or so steps every time she
comes to visit her late husband. At various points within the cemetery, there are blue buckets and faucets
where you can fill the buckets with soap and water to clean the head stones free of any filth. We also witnessed
one man leaving offerings (usually food, drinks and charms) while praying and burning incense at one of the
graves. The quiet and peace you feel at a place like this definitely has an effect on you.  We felt a little intrusive
but we did our best to be respectful, as difficult as that was.
 

From the top, you can see the entire cemetery and all of Kyoto below. Interestingly, the cemetery blends
in with the city, as the headstones look like nothing more than more buildings.












 

Us.  Funny how the girls are smiling and looking at the camera while me and Tom are staring off into
the distance.  What does that mean?