Random Japan #22 :: Random House and Japanese Grave Yards

dbooster (64)in #japan • 6 years ago

Nice house. Er... well, nice wall anyway.

As I've mentioned before, yards in Japan are considered completely private as opposed to semi-public in the US, and so they are usually surrounded by walls or thick hedges. I suppose it might seem unfriendly to new-comers, but after you notice every house does it, it becomes normal. There is a certain charm to these walls too.

The tree over the gate is typical. It is good luck, so most houses do it, even those without yards or walls. I dig the blue house tiles. Of all the different colors and shades you see in Japan, the blue ones are my favorite.

Bonus random photo: Japanese Grave Yard

Hmm... or cemetery? "Grave yard" is the word to use when it's connected to a church, right? So even tho we usually use cemetery when speaking of these Japanese places, I think this being connected to a Buddhist temple technically makes it a grave yard. I just like the word better, anyway. Cemetery feels like we are trying to dress up the word and hide the truth of the place.

Incidentally, despite most Japanese people claiming to be "Buddhist" when asked about their religion, Buddhism is pretty much dead in Japan. They only answer that in the hopes that no more discussion of religion will take place, but the average person knows even less about Buddhism than the average American knows about Christianity. Buddhist temples are pretty much just for the grave yard and the very expensive various funeral anniversary events. It's a good business, in other words.

If you like this random photo from Japan, be sure to check out @kaliju's great Random Korea series. The latest entry there is Random Korea #10 - Flowers and Towers!