@polebird: Whimsical stone emojis of Japan 😕😫😋😭😢😛😑🙃

This was definitely one of the coolest temples I visited during my trip to Kyoto, Japan. It is just filled with personality! Otagi Nenbutsu-ji is a bit off the beaten path in the hills of Arashiyma. It is much a temple that is much less visited. In fact, it took us about 1 hour to walk over from the nearest bus stop.

The temple was originally located in Higashiyama and much of it was washed away after terrible floods. The remaining structures were reassembled in the current location, but suffered more damage after a typhoon in 1950. Shortly thereafter, a new head priest Kocho Nishimura (also a sculptor) headed the renovations. His idea was to teach visitors how to chisel and make stone sculptures of Buddha’s disciples aka Rakan statues. This resulted in 1200 different and unique statues - because each statue was made by a different person! How COOL is that!?

When I realized that these statues were carved by different people between 1981-1991, it truly made me appreciate them even more, and I love the idea of it. There are so many different emotions and personalities displayed amongst the statues - I feel like it embraces diversity! source

We spent quite a bit of time running around the moss covered statues so we could look at their characters. This was like walking through real life stone emojis!

This one hit close to home - a handstanding statue! Life is more fun upside down. :D Where is the pole dancing statue?

The guitar player! Of course, I had to play my air guitar to match.

Thanks for reading! What kind of stone statue would you have carved if given the chance?

Love,
Jess