Koya

Last week on a public holiday we headed up the mountain to Koya, one of the holiest places for Japanese Buddhism (the founder of the largest stream within Japanese Buddhism is buried there). The town is chalk full of temples and shrines and cemeteries. It was interesting to hear more about some of the Japanese burial practices. For example, at Koya there are many company graves (like the UCC coffee cup shown below) as the Japanese used to think of their company as family. Upon death, some people have their remains placed in two or three places, depending on their company and family traditions. The whole place felt kind of like Fangorn Forest, and we got that picture of Tiffany just before Treebeard stole our camera.