Adashino Nenbutu Dera

In the area a little apart from the bustling and sightseeing Sagano I was wrapped in calm and solemn atmosphere. When I entered the central part of the precincts, I was astonished at numerous stones lined up crowdedly. «What are they?» I asked a friend of mine. He replied, «This is stone images or pagodas for the dead persons». In the background the beautiful mountain looked like a borrowed landscape. As it was in late autumn that I visited here, leaves of the background trees turned a beautiful crimson color. Even awesome scenery gave me a sad feeling.
In this area known as a former cemetery numerous numbers of stone images and pagodas stand. Buddhist monk, Kouboudaishi Kukai founded a temple here to pray for the departed souls of people with no relatives or families. A memorial service called Sentoukuyou (Sen means one thousand, Tou means light, Kuyou means memorial service) is hold to mourn and console the soul in such a way as visitors offer candles in the stone images in the latter half of August. This area is said to be colored with soft lights in darkness. It is not only fantastic but also solemn. I felt sorry that many people passed away alone with losing relations with others at that time, too. I will come here on the day of the Buddhist memorial service to offer a candle.