Osaka

Beauties at Hōkoku Shrine, Osaka

Handsome statues inside Osaka Castle Park!

Takako Sakamoto Jul 13, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>One of the guardian dogs viewed from the side</p>

<p>Stone statue of guardian dog at Hōkoku Shrine</p>

<p>Close-up of the statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who is enshrined in Hōkoku Shrine in Osaka</p>

<p>Statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and an inner torii gate of Hōkoku Shrine</p>

<p>The other guardian dog looks somehow bluish</p>

<p>Close-up of a bluish guardian dog</p>

<p>The back view of a bluish guardian dog</p>

<p>Side view of a bluish guardian dog</p>

<p>Roof ornaments of Hōkoku Shrine's main hall</p>

<p>Toyotomi Clan's crest (Paulownia of 5-7) decorating the lantern</p>

<p>Rusty gold crest of Paulownia of 5-7 (Toyotomi Clan crest)</p>

<p>Poem is carved on a stone. It turned out this poem was written by a poet called Miyayoshi Souu, who was born in Fukui, where I live!</p>

<p>Curious looking stone which has a lot of holes dug by...what? rain drops?</p>

<p>Ornamental water basin at the back entrance of Hōkoku Shrine</p>

When I visited Hōkoku Shrine in Osaka Castle Park the other day I scrutinized the entire premises like a curious detective, and found some interesting things that I would have missed if I hadn't acted like Sherlock Holmes! For instance, I found the color of its guardian dogs different from other dogs I've seen in other shrines...they could be called bluish or greenish. I found the color of the statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi too dark, almost black, for some reason, etc., etc.. If you keep your eyes open and look closely, you'll find unexpected things everywhere you go, and it's FUN!

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Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...