For me growing up I was a little bit religious. I’m Hindu and I have a lot of friends who are part of Buddhism. So I was pretty excited to go to the Fukagaw a Fudou-do Budda temple as it was going to be my first time going to a Buddhist temple. It was very pretty and if you look in the blog post on the top left corner you’ll see a black wall that has these golden encryptions. The language is Sanskrit which is one of the oldest languages in India. Buddhism originated from India so it was interesting to see that correlation. In the beginning, we had to wash our hands which is kind of similar to the Hindu temples I go to. I usually have to wash my hands before entering the temple to be represented properly in front of the gods. We also had to take off our shoes at the Buddhist temple and while I was walking around I was simply amazed by the architecture. I like traditional art as it has a deep meaning and the way it looks as well is very appealing. It was so cool seeing the different variations of Buddha. The texts were in Japanese so I couldn’t read what each reincarnation represented but I know that if it was in English I would be in that temple a lot longer. I’ve always had an interest in reading or learning about different religions because a lot of the time there is a symbolic meaning behind each aspect of the designated religion. Everything about the temple was mesmerizing to me and we were able to stay around for a certain ritual. I think it was a fire-related ritual and I saw the monks pray and recite words while doing the ritual. The posture and the way we held our hands to pray was the same as how we do it in Hindu temples so for me I didn’t have a hard time understanding what were the next steps and what I was supposed to be doing. If I ever visit Japan again I definitely want to visit this temple as I enjoyed it so much while I was there. I was telling my friends about this it and they were so happy I got to experience that. They also want to visit the temple if they ever visit Japan and I would recommend they do as it was interesting to see how Buddhism is practiced in Japan.

On May 26th everyone in the program visited the Memorial Park at Hiroshima. while we were there we were guided by some volunteers who were in mainly high school. They wanted to improve their english speaking skills and they explained to us about the nuclear bomb and how it impacted their country and what to do moving forward. While we were walking around the Memorial Park we saw the place where they pray and commemorate the people who passed away from the bombing. We also saw the place where the original atomic bomb landed. It was in a dome-like structure and you can see it in the back of the photo attached to this blog post. They explained how originally the bomb was supposed to land on the bridge near the dome but it ended up landing on the dome. Before the explosion took place the building was mainly used for keeping knowledge almost like a library that had some historical emphasis but it all disappeared when the bombing took place. At the center of the Memorial Park, there is a fire that is supposed to continue burning until there are no more nuclear bombs in the world. It’s a representation of the tragedy Hiroshima experienced and they don’t want anybody else to have to go through what they went. They also have running water as it symbolizes a place for the spirits to swim in as a lot of the survivors after the bombing were severely burned and were looking for water locations to cool down in. Another place we visited had a statue of a young girl with a paper crane. Around the young girl, there were so many different almost rope-like structures of paper cranes that were attached to each other. In Hiroshima, a paper crane represents peace, hope, and recovery. Sadako Sasaki was a girl who was exposed to radiation when she was an infant and was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away later on when she was around 12 years old. She’s a representation of how people still suffered from the result of the attack many years later. The guides told us most of the time it was leukemia that affected the people who survived the attack. Overall it was an interesting trip where I learned a lot and it opened up a new perspective on Hiroshima. The guides were super nice and they were excited to talk with us and it was interesting learning from them about the memorial park and what it symbolizes.

On May 22nd everyone in the program went to the Edo Museum. I was blown away by what I experienced and what I learned. Throughout my life, most of the museums I went to weren’t as interactive as this museum. A lot of the time it would have a showcase piece with a couple of words next to it explaining what it is and how it’s important. I had an interest in this museum beforehand as I heard how popular the Edo period was in Japan. I was not expecting an almost real-life interactive area. It was amazing and my jaw dropped when I entered the room. I went downstairs immediately and was looking around and I felt I learned so much more by looking and seeing physically how the Edo period looked like compared to reading about it before entering the room. Seeing each individual home really brought into scope how the people lived during the Edo period. The museum taught me how the Edo period was created after the Sengoku period and that during this time economic growth, social order, overall piece, and enjoyment of art were a big thing. It was one of the most peaceful times in Japan. I was walking into the different homes and each of them had their own specialty. One of them was a market for vegetables while there was another one that had pottery. At the end of the museum, there was a river-like place that had real water and there was a boat in that river. The museum was trying to mimic the Edo period and what it was like. They did an amazing job as just a visual representation alone made me more alert and taught me more about the time period. Others in the program were also surprised by how interactive the museum was. We were able to interact with some machines and we were allowed to go inside the house and look around as well. Some of us sat on the pillow that was at the center of some of the homes. The museum was also playing music that was commonly played during the Edo period so it really did feel like we were in that period just looking around and having fun. Out of all the museums I’ve gone to the Edo period museum was one of my favorites as it was truly unique and the interactive aspect was something that was completely unexpected but it was one of the best surprises.