Gentle Mother Kannon statue @Kurume Narita-san

 

I don't know if someone forgot to pick them or intentionally left them as charms on the strawberry tree, but ripe fruits were visible among the green leaves.







Although they are fruits the size of my index fingertip, they have quite a presence when taking a close-up shot.



Some of them are slightly out of focus, but still emit a dazzling radiance.
　
Now,

Since my memory is becoming unreliable, I use this blog as a memo to jot down my thoughts and capture spur-of-the-moment ideas with photos.

While organizing the pictures, I found some that I had forgotten to feature.




People living in Fukuoka might say, "Hmm, so what?"

But while driving down National Route 3, past Kurume, and on the way to Yame, I came across an enormous Buddha statue.

I deviated from my intended destination and parked my car in the parking lot.






In Okagaki-cho,  Narita-san Fudo Temple is located on a high hill overlooking the Hibiki-nada Sea.

The parking space there has become my favourite spot for rehearsing traditional Noh songs.

I had no idea that there was such a large temple in Kurume, let alone an enormous Kannon statue.



Without any specific reason, it's a staircase decoration that seems suspicious.



With the stone steps of the approach paved with green marble, the desire to climb them seems to fade away.





Seeing the image of the Bodhisattva holding a baby, it must be the statue of the compassionate mother, Kannon.



A building resembling a Buddhist pagoda also comes into view.

What in the world is that?



Even now, I feel more inclined to pray sincerely to this little monk.







It seems that by paying an admission fee, you can see the interior of these buildings, but it probably won't make much of a difference.



There's no need to bother looking at them (Hell & Heaven) here when I'll soon or later be able to face the real thing.



The large stupa-like building appears to be a columbarium.

Seems like it comes with a hefty price tag.



I'm starting to get bored with all this.



Anyway, I went around and explored, but there wasn't anything that inspired a devout feeling.



Marble guardian dogs.

As I look at this series of photos, I just realized why, after visiting the Yame Kofun Group, I promptly turned the other destinations into blog posts, but somehow left this one out.