Voyage Junkie

One of the most vivid sights we encountered in Nagasaki was the Sofukuji , a Buddhist temple built in the Chinese style.  It was constructed in 1629 by Chinese residents of Nagasaki, and still functions as a place of worship for those of Chinese descent.  It is located adjacent to Chinatown, up a hill quite a ways and set back into the forest.  What separates it from Japanese-style temples is the color: the Chinese-style buildings are very bright, as you can see.  The reds, blues, and greens simply jumped off the structures.  As our posts of Japanese-style temples can show, the color template there is often muted and subdued.  Another difference deals with the statues of the Gods and Goddesses, as are shown in some pictures below. First, here's the second gate, up a steep flight of stairs from the main entrance shown above. Note the bright blue, green, and orange!  This was unlike anything I had seen on a temple before.  Matt and I enjoyed seeing it because it was so beaut

Our main reason for visiting Nagasaki was to see the historic island of Dejima.  This is a place to which foreigners were relegated during the time Japan was closed.  Circa 1823 or so, the land mass was actually a man-made island stuck off the coast of Nagasaki, hanging into the bay by one bridge.  The shogun used the unusual circumstances of the island to decree it simultaneously not part of Japan yet under Japanese law; thus, foreigners could live there.  They could not leave except by ship, and only a few were allowed to visit the mainland, one of whom was the doctor and researcher at Dejima, Philipp Franz von Siebold.   Many of you may know Siebold from Matt's facebook photo.  To the left is the actual portrait of Siebold, age 30, painted on Dejima in 1823 by Kawahara Keiga.  We saw this, along with many other paintings depicting life on Dejima and Siebold's plant research in a museum dedicated to the doctor and his research.  In light of an incredible novel we read

We went to Nagasaki before leaving Japan, and it was a wonderful decision.  The city is lovely, populated by open and friendly people.  It is spread out but each part is easily accessible by foot or trolley.  On our first day, we visited the Peace Park to take in monuments commemorating the atomic blast of 8.9.1945.  The most famous one is pictured to the left, a towering blue giant pointing to the sky (the threat of nuclear power) and reaching to one side (the arm of peace).  Fun fact: every time we told people in Gifu we were going to Nagasaki, they confusedly attempted to reproduce the pose.    More striking than the blue man, however, was the monument marking the hypocenter of the blast.  Seen to the right, it is a tall pillar in the middle of a large, low-lying field.  Concentric circles spread from the pillar, creating an emotionally powerful visual.  Nearby is a small piece of the Urakami Cathedral that survived the blast, moved from its location in order to preserve the mem