Outside the main hall of Kitain, one gets a nice view of the temple grounds with a pagoda, a purification fountain and an incense burning oven.

View outside the main hall of Kitain Temple in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. © 2021 Norbert Woehnl Photography.

In 1638, a fire destroyed most of Kitain. To help rebuilding it, the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, ordered several palace buildings to be moved from Edo Castle to this site in Kawagoe. Today, these are the only surviving buildings of Edo Castle, and behind them, a view opens up into a beautiful Japanese garden.

Autumn impression from the garden at Kitain Temple in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. © 2021 Norbert Woehnl Photography.

Located in a small separate courtyard on the temple grounds are the Gohyaku Rakan, 540 stone statues of the disciples of Buddha. Carved between 1782 and 1825, the statues portray the disciples in a great variety of positions, so that no two are alike.

Rakan (Buddha disciples) statues at Kitain Temple in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. © 2021 Norbert Woehnl Photography.

All photos shot with Mamiya 6 and 50mm f/4 lens on Fujicolor Pro 400H film.
Developed and scanned by Yamamoto Camera.