Yanaka Cemetery

Trip Start Nov 08, 2006

260

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Japan Tokyo, Japan
Friday, November 10, 2006

I love cemeteries. And I don't find such a fascination morbid. First and foremost, I enjoy silence. And there are rarely screaming children and arguing couples wandering around. Secondly, they are often exceedingly beautiful. Mankind (the world over and throughout time) has lavished the dead with ornate structures and beautiful art. I've yet to make it to the largest headstones in the world (the pyramids), but I've seen some pretty cool places. I've said for the last several years that Necropolis in Glasgow, Scotland was my favorite cemetery in the world (It's a fun party game. "What's YOUR favorite city of the dead? No way! Mine too!!"). It has headstones that are 30 feet tall. It lies on a hill and the structures get larger and more elaborate as you near the summit. And the sun was setting while I was there, so by the time I reached the top it was dark, cold, windy and the incredible structures commanded awe. So when I think cemetery, I think dark, brooding baroque architecture.

Yanaka in Tokyo was something else entirely. It was gorgeous. Like a zen garden populated with exquisite monuments. With rare exception, they were never more than 5 or 6 feet tall. They were awe-inspiring not for their size, but for there tasteful simplicity and elegance. I don't know how to describe it, so I'll provide a photo tour. Admittedly, there were some large stones and giant Buddha statues, but they somehow harmonized with the surrounding architecture. There was not an obvious social hierarchy as there was at the Necropolis. I thought it was fantastic.

Slideshow

Pictures

01 Yanaka Cemetery	02 Script Dark with Burned Incense	03 Tree Stretching Out Over Yanaka	04 Statue and Several Shrines
05 Close-up of Buddha and Shrine	06 Black Yanaka Monument	07 Yanaka Crow	08 Glowing Tree
09 Large Monument with Flowers	10 Large Headstone with White Script	11 Drying Leaves in Yanaka	12 Flowers on Monument
13 Flowers in Yanaka	14 Wooden Posts	15 Large Stone Monument in Yanaka	16 Lindsey Walking Through Cemetery
17 Backdrop of Green in Yanaka	18 Cycling Through Cemetery	19 Time to Reflect	20 Monument Complex
21 Natural Cut Stone	22 Another Monument in Yanaka	23 Yanaka Monument	24 Monument Through Leaves
25 Oasis of Joy	26 Sprawling Tree in Yanaka	27 Monument with Script	28 Smoking and Chatting
29 Street Mirrors	30 Street Mirrors and Cyclist	31 Stone and Wooden Prayer Posts	32 Another Monument Set
33 Monument Set and Tree	34 Monuments and Shrubs	35 Torii Gate	36 Tree Branch and Stone in Yanaka
37 Stone Monuments in Yanaka