西大谷
Nishi Otani (Shinran's Mausoleum)
About this photo
We look along a bridge lined on both sides with stone railings, toward a gate at the far end. Stone posts stand at even intervals along the railings, and on the bridge is a person holding an umbrella. In Kyoto Meishocho (Album of Famous Places in Kyoto, 1909), it appears under the title "Nishi Otani."
Nishi Otani is Otani Honbyo, the burial place of Shinran, belonging to the Honganji branch of Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land Buddhism). It moved to its present site in 1603. The stone bridge in the photo is Entsukyo. It was built in 1856 with donations from Osaka merchants, ahead of a great memorial service (daionki) marking 600 years since Shinran's death. It is about 40 meters long.
Its two round arches, reflected in the water, look like a pair of eyeglasses, so it is also called Meganebashi (Spectacles Bridge). It is said to be the only Edo-period stone arch bridge left in Kyoto City.
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- Source title
- 『京都名勝帖』（明治42年10月）
- Held by
- National Diet Library, Japan
- Why it's free to use
- Copyright expired (public domain)
- Original item
- View in the NDL Digital Collections
- Taken
- 117+ years ago
- Added to site
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