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Eccentric Privately Owned Stone Carvings: Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Kyoto

There are so many temples in Kyoto, but this Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple has something different because of its stone carving collection in their garden. Usually, stone statues of rakan, which means disciple of Buddha, are made by professional craftsmen; however, most of the one thousand stone sculptures there were carved by amateurs. That is the reason why there are so many unique carvings there. For example, there are statues of two people who renewed their friendship while drinking sake, a man shooting a video with his camera on his shoulder, a person who is holding his cat by both of its forefeet, and so on. You may be able to find a statue that closely resembles you if you look carefully around the garden. I went there in September, 2007. I think the best season to visit  there is late autumn because you can enjoy leaf peeping alongside the stone carvings. 

Here is the website of the temple:  https://www.otagiji.com/

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