Shingon Buddhism has been very closely tied to the State and supported by the aristocracy since its inception by Kobo Daishi in 816. The latter association giving rise to the term ‘Aristocratic Buddhism’. While many temples in the Danjo Garan (seperate reviews), and elsewhere in Koyasan, were built at the request of, or in memory of, former Japanese Emperors, high ranking military officials and the like, nowhere are these associations more evident than here in the Okunoin Cemetery. Continue reading “The State, Aristocracy, Big Business and Okunoin”
What did we say about the Flower Show?
North Korean flower shows are not quite the same as flower shows elsewhere. Well, that’s not really a surprise as nothing is quite the same in North Korea. Continue reading “What did we say about the Flower Show?”
Three Revolutions Exhibition
Set in a sprawling concrete park, on the outskirts of the city, are six buildings detailing the ‘three revolutions’ brought about by Kim Il-sung in postwar Korea – the Great Leader’s ideological, technical and cultural revolutions. Continue reading “Three Revolutions Exhibition”
International Kimilsungia Festival – Flower Show
A flower show!
I hear my reader breath a sigh of relief thinking that this will be my first North Korean review not to mention Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, the Fatherland, US imperialists or many other things routinely trotted out in every other review from my North Korean trip. This time we will get to see pretty flowers and hear of things horticultural, you say. Continue reading “International Kimilsungia Festival – Flower Show”
The Rambling Wombat 