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Tokyo Weekender
29-05-2025
- Tokyo Weekender
6 Temples in Kyoto and Nara Famous for Their Seasonal Flowers
This article appeared in Tokyo Weekender Vol. 2, 2025. To read the entire issue, click here . As old capitals of Japan, Kyoto and Nara have long been centers of faith and tradition, the mountains around them revered as sacred spaces bridging the natural and the divine. Scattered throughout this topography are isolated temples and shrines, each with its own deep history and profound beauty. Among these secluded mountain temples, a few are known among locals for the way they come alive when flowers bloom — cherry blossom petals drifting through the air in spring, hydrangeas blooming in quiet clusters come early summer or spider lilies and cosmos carpeting the ground as autumn approaches. Though these places are a wonder to visit year-round, they take on an even more otherworldly feeling when their signature flowers bloom. Tsubosaka-dera: Takatori, Nara Tucked in the mountains of Nara Prefecture, not far from Mount Yoshino, sits Tsubosaka-dera . Though it's not as well known as Yoshino for its cherry blossoms, anyone who visits during this season can witness the temple's large seated Buddha statue floating in a cloud of sakura — a quiet spectacle all its own. The temple is also beloved for its pale pink pagoda, which makes for stunning springtime photos. The name 'Tsubosaka-dera' means 'jar on a hillside temple.' According to legend, the temple was founded in 703 by the monk Benki, who apparently had a beloved glass jar. While practicing asceticism on the mountain, a vision of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, appeared inside it, and so he placed the jar in a hermitage on top of the mountain. This is said to be the temple's origin. A few centuries later, Sei Shonagon mentioned Tsubosaka-dera in The Pillow Book , where it's included in her list of temples with miraculous powers. Gansenji: Kizugawa, Kyoto Deep in the forested mountains of southern Kyoto Prefecture, an isolated pagoda rises from the greenery. This three-story wooden pagoda is part of Gansenji , which, according to the temple's documents, was founded in 729 by the celebrated Buddhist priest Gyoki. Mystically serene in every season, Gansenji is a great spot for viewing both cherry blossoms and autumn colors, but early summer is when Gansenji really comes alive. Every June, when the hydrangeas bloom, the temple grounds are filled with white, pink, blue and purple tiny clouds against the lush green of the surrounding forest, and lotus flowers fill the pond. Hasedera: Sakurai, Nara Nestled in the mountains near the ancient town of Sakurai in Nara Prefecture lies the sprawling temple complex of Hasedera . Founded in 686, Hasedera is the center of the Bunzan school of Shingon Buddhism, and the temple complex consists of 30 buildings dotted around the hillside. Leading up to the main hall is the temple's famous covered wooden staircase of 399 steps, which is lined with peonies in the early spring and leads to an outdoor staircase decorated with hydrangeas in early summer. The main hall at the top offers a spectacular view of the temple complex and its surroundings, particularly during the cherry blossom season and when the leaves change in the autumn. Shojuin: Ujitawara, Kyoto During the summer, more than 2,000 wind chimes adorn this remote temple in southern Kyoto. The soft clinking of the decorated wind chimes, heard from the beginning of July until mid-September, is the origin of Shojuin's nickname, Furinji — the Wind Chime Temple . Though the Wind Chime Festival is a summer event, the temple offers seasonal beauty year-round, best viewed through the reception hall's heart-shaped window looking out onto the garden. The hall's ceiling is also decorated with 160 colorful paintings of flowers and other Japanese art, creating a splendid scene overhead. Butsuryu-ji: Uda, Nara Situated in Nara Prefecture, Butsuryu-ji has become well known for the spider lilies that turn the temple grounds into a carpet of vibrant red every year in early autumn. The temple is also popular locally as a sakura viewing spot due to its famous 900-year-old resident, Sennen-Zakura, a huge cherry tree that greets visitors along the entrance path. Butsuryu-ji was founded in 850 by the monk Kenne, a disciple of Kobo Daishi. Behind the main temple buildings, carved into the mountainside, is an ancient-looking stone chamber, which is generally accepted to be Kenne's grave. Hannya-ji: Nara City, Nara Every year in early autumn, a meadow of cosmos blooms around this temple on the outskirts of Nara city. The 'Hannya' of the temple's name is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word for 'wisdom,' but today, Hannya-ji is more often associated with these flowers, and is nicknamed the Cosmos Temple. Hannya-ji is rumored to have been founded in 629 by the monk Ekan, who came to Japan from one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea. Many of the buildings and artifacts at the temple have been designated Important Cultural Properties, in particular the gate entrance, a National Treasure dating to the 13th century. Related Posts Stunning Flower Festivals in Japan To Visit This Spring Ashikaga Flower Park: A Dreamy Destination in Any Season List of 7: Recommended Japanese Flower Parks
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Detained population at Tacoma ICE center nearing capacity as immigration arrests increase
The population of people held in the privately-run immigration detention center in Tacoma has continued to grow since President Donald Trump began his second term in January, and an activist group and lawyers say it is nearing capacity. The Northwest ICE Processing Center, which holds people who are suspected of being in the country illegally or awaiting deportation, has bed space for 1,575 people. Elizabeth Benki, a directing attorney for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project's detention work, estimated Wednesday that 1,400 to 1,500 people are detained at the facility. La Resistencia, a group that advocates for closing the NWIPC and ending deportations, said Wednesday that there are more than 1,500 people held there. According to ICE statistics, the facility's average daily population hasn't been over 1,181 since before the COVID-19 pandemic. That number is the guaranteed minimum detainees ICE is required to pay its contractor, the GEO Group, for overseeing. 'There was a sharp increase after Jan. 20,' Benki said. 'What we're seeing, I think, is a combination of two things. I think there's more people being detained, and there's also fewer people getting released, particularly on bond.' Before Jan. 20, Benki said the facility's population had hovered between 700 and 800 for a couple years. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had 46,269 people in detention across the country as of March 9, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). That's the most people it has had detained since October 2019. ICE detentions also recently surpassed the number of people detained by Customs and Border Patrol for the first time in four years, according to TRAC. One significant effect the NWIPC's rising population has had on people who are detained, Benki said, is that court hearings are becoming backed up. If someone is filling out an application for asylum for example, Benki said, individual calendar hearings for it are being set for September or October. 'That's a really long time to wait for your final hearing,' Benki said. 'And when the population was lower around 700 to 800, the wait was several months shorter.' The estimates provided by Benki and La Resistencia don't line up with ICE's statistics on the facility's average daily population. According to ICE, the NWIPC had an average daily population of 834 people as of March 3, up from 709 on Jan. 6. The average daily population is calculated based on the average population during all days in the fiscal year to that point. According to TRAC, that means that if detainees are held at a location for a limited time, the average daily population might be much lower than the real number of individuals detained at that center on any given day. A spokesperson for ICE did not reply to a request for comment. Rufina Reyes, an organizer with La Resistencia, said the group tracks the number of people held at the facility by keeping in contact with detainees daily and by monitoring contracted ICE flights into and out of Boeing Field in King County. Reyes said detainees have told La Resistencia that all of the living units are full. 'Right now we know the capacity in there is really bad,' Reyes said. Detainees worry about the facility's ability to provide them medical attention, Reyes said. That issue was mentioned last week in a lawsuit brought by a longtime Washington resident who has been detained at the NWIPC since early February. Ramon Rodriguez Vasquez, whose class-action challenges the Tacoma Immigration Court's alleged refusal to consider releasing people from the facility on bond, said the facility failed to get him his daily medication for high blood pressure for more than a week. He said as a result he suffered from headaches, stomach pain and inflamed feet. Asked about staffing at the facility, Benki said her sense is that the company that runs the NWIPC, the GEO Group, didn't immediately have the number of staff it needed to have a sharp increase in the detained population. A spokesperson for the GEO Group declined to comment and directed The News Tribune to send inquiries to ICE. The GEO Group is based in Florida and operates correctional facilities around the world. Last year it reported more than $1.6 billion in revenue for its secure services operations in the United States, according to the Security and Exchange Commission. In a Feb. 27 earnings call with investors, executive chairman of GEO George Zoley said he believed the company was in a position to scale up its secure residential care housing for ICE from 15,000 beds to between 31,000 and 32,000. 'We believe our company faces an unprecedented opportunity at this time to play a role in supporting President Trump's new administration's policy,' Zoley said. The NWIPC has long faced criticism from activists and human-rights groups over its conditions for detainees, which facility administrator Bruce Scott has disputed. In an opinion piece published last year, he said the facility was safe, secure and humane. Detainees have staged hunger strikes to protest conditions and what they describe as lack of due process. On March 2, a group of 51 people detained at the NWIPC refused to eat for the day, according to La Resistencia, demanding an improvement in the facility's meals and that their cases be properly processed. Protests are planned to take place outside the NWIPC this week. The Washington State Labor Council, which represents over 600 local unions in the state, said union members and labor leaders would rally at the facility Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to protest the detentions of union members Alfredo 'Lelo' Juarez and Lewelyn Dixon. On Saturday, La Resistencia plans to rally with organizers and community members outside the NWIPC from 1-3 p.m. In a news release, the group said it would be demanding the immediate release of all migrants detained at the detention center.
