33 Kannon Statues at Snowy Taichoji

Cute Kannon statues buried in snow!

來自 Takako Sakamoto

社團作家

No. 3 of thirty-three Kannon Statues in the grounds of Taichoji Temple

The narrow pathway to visit all thirty-three Kannon statues was gone...buried in snow!

Stone torii gate leading to the pilgrimage pathway to the Thirty-Three Kannon Statues, with a snow-capped stone lantern in the foreground

Looking up at the stone torii gate from inside

Small Kannon statue looking happy even though half-buried in snow!

Close-up look at the happy-faced Kannon statue

Looking at Kannon statues beside the invisible pathway in the snow-buried woods

No. 4 Kannon statue, and fallen leaves on snow

Water droplets on the sacred straw hanging from the stone torii gate

No. 32 Kannon statue at the foot of a tree buried in snow

Close-up look at the serene face of No. 32 Kannon statue

In early October last year, I visited Taichoji Temple and made a pilgrimage to all thirty-three Kannon Statues there. On January 3rd this year it snowed heavily, so I revisited the temple to see how these statues were doing in snow. They were there, looking happy, despite the cold snow half covering them. Usually, you can follow a narrow pathway to visit all of them, but it was completely buried in snow. Although I wanted to see them all again, I also didn't want to cause a newspaper headline like, "Photography lover found frozen to death in snow at Taichoji", so I refrained from venturing further into the woods. Still, I could see some of their happy faces from afar using a zoom lens!