Ringing the temple bell as the bus with mourners arrives for the memorial service at the temple

Some local residents know the temple of Gotanjo-ji as the "cat temple" because strays, abandoned, and unwanted felines are welcome there at any age and in any condition. One briefly comes into view as the camcorder moves from the bell platform across the parking lot to the bus where mourners are stepping off.

Buddhist temples in rural Japan vary in their scope and depth of engagement with parishioners. Some were founded with the labor and money of a core group of families long ago and have grown as the descendants increase. Others, particular Zen temples like this one, came about as a good deed by a single benefactor or a small number of founders who endow it, thus making it independent of ongoing contributions and involvement of parishioners. The case of Gotanjo-ji (literally, 'birthday temple') stands out from many other places of worship created in the most recent generation or two. The name refers to one of Soto-Zen's early leaders many hundred years ago who was born only a short bicycle ride from here. Looking at the memorial markers and family tombstones, there are many that are non-traditional in theme or design; for example, carved with "arigatou" (thanks or grateful) instead of a Buddhist phrase. Many of the markers seem to refer to individuals instead of family units, as is traditional. Furthermore, those one-person markers frequently give a home location of a prefecture other than Fukui. In other words, for people without ties to another place or a family unit, this temple welcomes them to reserve a spot for their cremains, whether they are a member of this temple's congregation or not.

traveling Fukui-ken by rail early Saturday past factories and rice paddies toward the mountains

A minute or so after leaving J.R. Takefu station and heading to Kyoto for the national holiday of Culture Day (bunka-no-hi) the view changes from backs of houses and gardens to more open spaces where land is still farmed and the views to the horizon are not blocked. The morning light casts long shadows that exaggerate the shapes.

In the distance on the mountainside is a lower and darker slope where the large Shinto shrine stands, Oshio Hachiman Jingu. In the festival season it fills with neighborhood residents (ujiko) and visitors from surrounding towns and prefectures.

protest march paused at stop light, downtown Echizen-city 8/31/2017

A group of citizens was dissatisfied with the city mayor's handling of the construction plans for the new city hall behind the current 1950 building since the last remaining piece of the Edo Period castle, a section of hand-built stone rampart measuring 3.5m by 20 or 25m, would be dislocated and deconstructed. Filing the freedom of information requests showed that the process was not thorough. The march began with speeches by megaphone in front of the city hall and then proceeded on a circuit through downtown for about 20 minutes on a route that passed the Education Department building and came up to the Shokaku-ji (temple) which hosts the original castle's main gate that was moved to safety when the feudal government transitioned to the modern, parliamentary one in 1867. The march ended at a small city center plaza where the marchers joined the chorus (in English, with lyric sheets) for "We Shall Overcome," and the old-time labor union song "頑張ろう" (ganbarou; 'here we go!').