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Raked gravel in the Shunkoin temple courtyard, Kyoto. For the abbot of the temple, raking gravel is an integral part of his daily worship.
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A typical Japanes garden in Kyoto.
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The Shunkoin temple in the Myoshinji complex.
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The Ryoanji temple's rock garden. It is believed that the garden's structure is designed to appeal to viewers' visual sensitivity to axial symmetry.
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Library of Buddhist manuscripts in the Shunkoin monastery.
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A talisman to ward off evil, Kyoto.
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The Kinkakuji temple. It is perhaps the most visited shrine in Kyoto.
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Nio protector at the gate of the Todaiji temple in Nara.
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Deer in the Todaiji temple's courtyard. The deer is considered sacred in this town.
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The garden seems to occupy such centrality in Japanes lives that even the tiniest of houses is overflowing with flowering pots and creepers. Here, potted plants in Kyoto.
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The Todaiji temple. It is said to be the oldest wooden structure in the world.
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A roadside shrine in Nara.
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The entrance to the Kasuga-Taishu Shinto shrine, which is on top of a small hillock in Nara.
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Stone lanterns on the winding path to the Kasuga-Taishu shrine.
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The red wooden Kasuga-Taishu shrine is tastefully decorated and embellished with even more lanterns, of brass.
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Schoolgirls in the traditional kimono in Nara.
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The Kofukuji temple in Nara.
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The spire of the Kofukuji temple in Nara.
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