Yet another Sword Art Online blog post for the week! This comes from episode 25 of Season 2 of titled “Mother’s Rosario“.
Asuna is on a tour in Kyoto, there were a few places I’ve actually been to that Asuna went, but I just want to focus on this particular place.
Asuna and the gang are visiting Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, in Kyoto, Japan.
The Kiyomizu-dera Temple is an independent Buddhist temple located in Eastern Tokyo. It’s actually a complex for several shrines and other points of interest; but this temple is the most popular on site.
It’s surrounded by greenery and is so beautiful in all seasons. The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Oji, and Otsu cities) UNESCO World Heritage site. This temple was founded during the Heian period, and it’s present building (seen) was built in 1633, by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. The name is taken from the waterfall within the complex. Kiyomizu translates to “pure water” or “clear water”.
No nails were used to build this structure, and the main hall is one large veranda supported by tall pillars that protrude out over the hillside boasting great views of Kyoto. The large open spaces were built to be able to accommodate the mass amount of people on pilgrimage. Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfalls, which are divided into 3 streams; in which each stream’s water is supposed to have a different benefit: longevity, success at school, or a fortunate love life. Visitors can drink from the stream but it’s said that if you were to drink from all three you’d be considered greedy.
In the map below, you’ll be able to see the location of this historic place. You’ll notice little symbols that will look kind of odd to you as they are similar to the swastika symbol. The symbol has a complex history, but in Japan you’ll frequently see these symbols to be an indicator of Buddhism; hence it is a Buddhist Swastika.
Thoughts on Kiyomizu-Dera Temple? Have you been able to visit this place before? Also, if there are any other anime’s you can suggest that might have some interesting architectural features either for my ANI-Reality or Fantasy Friday posts, please don’t hesitate to send them my way! I’m always looking for new shows to watch!
ARCHI-ANIME 
Very cool. These temples always seem to be popular attractions, and I hope to see one in person someday.
You mentioned that no nails were used in the construction. Do you know if there was some important reason?
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I haven’t really found a particular reason as to why they didn’t use nails. I’ll continue to do more research and get back to you. However, I do know that culturally, Japanese Carpentry has a long history spanning over 1000 years in which they use intricate joinery to construct temples, tea houses, furniture and so on.
Ah if ever you do, you have to take the “philosopher’s walk”. It’s basically a trail that leads you to several of the temples around Tokyo. It’s a beautiful trail alongside a creek/river!
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This was great! I def want to play this game now! Woot!😄
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It looks beautiful. I wish I can go there.
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It really looks amazing. If there is one thing on my list of things I want to do in my life it is visiting an Asian Country. Posts like these only make me wish that even more. I love the way this temple looks. Being a huge Asian fan, buildings and history like this really only confirms why I like Asian culture so much. Thank you for this post. I have said it before, but these posts are so very original, and I really enjoy reading them. Keep them coming 😀
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You’ll definitely love walking inside the temple then! I kno I really love ani-reality! But sometimes it’s hard to get it weekly, even tho I’ve watched a lot of anime I don’t remember if most of them referenced anything, so sifting through and finding material is my obstacle at the moment
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Take your ritme, really no worries. But I do think it is one of the coolest things you do on your blog, because it such a unique feature 😊 Then again, everything on your blog is cool, so there is that 😀
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