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| Kawagoe, which is located 40 kilometers by train
north-west from Tokyo, has long been called "Little Edo" for
its resemblance with Edo (the old name for Tokyo). Although many of the old
buildings that made this city famous have burned, there still are a couple of
them that attract a large number of Japanese tourists during the week-ends... The famous kurazukuri street hosts a large number of the 30 storehouses still present in Kawagoe. In the 19th century, more than 300 of similar houses were found in Kawagoe. This typical architecture was choosen because it was supposed to be extremely resistant toward fire. Kawagoe, like Edo, was prone to such disasters, and many of these fire-resistant houses were destroyed during the Great Fire of 1894. On the same spot, the tokinokane bell tower can also be seen.
Kawagoe is also an important religious center in Japan. In 830, the monk Ennin founded Muryoju Temple for the worship of Amitabha Buddha (Buddha of Unending Life), divided in three parts: Kitain (North Temple), Nakain (Middle Temple), and Minamiin (South Temple, now destroyed). Kitain is today the head of Tendai Sect (one of the two most important buddhist sect) in the Kanto area. A magnificient garden can also be seen - but not visited: it was designed by Kobori Enshu (1579-1647), one of the three masters of the tea ceremony at the beginning of Edo era.
On the ground of the shrine - where by the way bells should never by rang, for an unknown reason - a tiny place can be found. There, 540 statues of disciple of Buddha can be observed. Those gohyaku-rakan statues are said to represent every single human emotion. It is really amazing to walk around, and watch closely those faces...
Kawagoe is quite famous for its matsuri (festival) held in October. It is considered as one of the three best festival in the Kanto area. Tens of thousands gather to see about 25 huge portable shrines carried around the oldest part of the city. Those floats are up to 7 meters tall.
A small set of pictures to show how the weather changes quickly in Japan, and how life is associated with those changes. First pictures were taken the 4th of March 2005 - heavy snow in Kawagoe.
The following two pictures were taken in the research center of Central Glass.
Then, a month later, the 8th of April 2005, the sakura season has well started, and the city of Kawagoe turned white again - but this time, because of the flowers.
Kita-in is probably the most famous place in Kawagoe for hanami - and many people party below those beautiful trees!
One picture of the research center...
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