Kofuku-ji pagoda and eastern hall, a photo from Nara, Kinki

Photographer's Note

‘Nara - Kofuku-ji pagoda and eastern hall’

The upper part of the Kofuku-ji five-storey pagoda was already visible on my previous picture of the rickshaw. Here a better view together with the Eastern Golden Hall that features a large wooden statue of the Yakushi Buddha.

Kofuku-ji used to be the family temple of the Fujiwara, the most powerful family clan during much of the Nara and Heian Periods. The temple was established in the city of Nara at the same time as the capital in 710. At the height of Fujiwara power, the temple consisted of over 150 buildings.
Today a couple of buildings of great historic value remain including this five story pagoda (50 m.) which is Japan's second tallest pagoda.

Temples in Japan usually contain a main hall, a lecture hall, a pagoda, an entrance gate, a temple bell and a cemetery, usually in a large and often very beautiful garden or park.
Temples used to be monasteries, and some still function as such.
The pagoda, a structure that has evolved from the Indian stupa, usually comes with three (sanju no to) or five (goju no to) stories.

All information from: http://www.japan-guide.com

In the year 710, the first permanent Japanese capital was established in Nara, a city modelled after the Chinese capital. Large Buddhist monasteries were built in the new capital. The monasteries quickly gained such strong political influence that, in order to protect the position of the emperor and central government, the capital was moved to Nagaoka in 784, and finally to Kyoto in 794 where it would remain for over one thousand years.

Due to its past as the first permanent capital, Nara is one of the most interesting places to admire Japan’s cultural heritage.

danos, Cricri, siudzi, ikeharel, jhm, Kamilutka, photoray, rychem, dip, nikkitta, kato, PiotrF, chrislo, Angshu, pierrefonds, swapankumarroy has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

emka (157280) 2014-05-17 23:35

Hi Paul,beautiful photo of this five storey pagoda of Nara. excellent composition.

i am too busy and a bit shocked to write more :).

Warm regrads from romantic granada

MAlgo

danos (110407) 2014-05-18 0:35

Hi Paul,
nice the panoramic view as the presentation of the Kofuku-ji pagoda,with the Eastern Golden Hall to cover the most of the frame.I like the excellent light and colour management as the beauty of the place.

Have a good Sunday,Danos

jemaflor (146382) 2014-05-18 0:49

Salut Paul,
Super monument avec cette architecture dйpaysante (pour moi), c'est cadrй sous un bon angle pour valoriser l'ensemble, bon rendu des teintes et des dйtails.

Cricri (176) 2014-05-18 0:55

Bonjour Paul
Belle prйsentation de l'ensemble a l'architecture magnifique, bon POV et cadrage, bonne lumiиre et couleurs
Beau dimanche
cricri

siudzi (34141) 2014-05-18 0:57

Hi Paul,
What a beautiful and elegant presentation of this amazing architecture! Your selected POV worked so well to build that fantastic classy sight. Well done! TFS!

Have a nice day!
Gosia

Gigidusud (21679) 2014-05-18 1:59

Bonjour Paul,
Trиs belle architecture typique bien prйsentйe, avec une douce lumiиre.
Bon dimanche.
Gigi

lousat (138683) 2014-05-18 2:04

Hi Paul,the architechture of this pagoda is truly magnificent,i like your choice of point of view to create this original composition and perspective,the detail are very good,the colors is a bit "pink"...heehe...have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

jhm (211734) 2014-05-18 4:29

Goedemiddag Paul,

Lekker in de tuin TE bezoeken in de prachtige zon.
Ik ben al een tijdjes overtuigd dat uw foto zeer doordacht en perfect passen in uw samenstelling.
Opnieuw is de boom een deel van het frame en de pagode als hulp werkwoord kan beschouwd worden.
Uw foto is helder en zeer genomen, past perfect in het plaatje.
Mooi foto werk, bedankt.

Prettige en warme zondag gewenst.
John

Sergiom (117241) 2014-05-18 5:19

Bonjour Paul,

Un endroit que j'aimerais beaucoup visiter un de ces jours. Mais c'est trиs loin et trиs cher, mais pour la photo il y a de quoi faire. Cette pagode est de toute beautй sous cette lumiиre.

Bon dimanche

Serge

npecanhuk (79329) 2014-05-18 13:55

Hi Paul!
Very beautiful temple!
Truly attractive picture, with special regards to the soft colors & light and composition!
TFS - congrats,
Have an excellent week,
Neyvan

marabu61 (11587) 2014-05-18 15:27

Hello Paul
Beautiful Pagoda in a strange light, but this scene emits a calm and tranquillity that is quite serene.
Have a great day
Daniel

Kamilutka (8107) 2014-05-19 3:49

Hello Paul,
the Japanese shown in your picture is not only very pretty but also well presented. The POV you chose makes good use of the pine tree which provided nice foreground element to the composition and helped to frame it in natural way. Some people present in the image give us sense of scale and liven it up.
The colors are very natural and the light has been nicely handled.
Thanks for sharing and enjoy your day
Kind regards
Kamila

holmertz (102066) 2014-05-20 11:58

Hello Paul,
I haven't had any time for TE lately because of a sudden work load before I am off on a journey (not to Japan). I didn't see this, but I enjoy it now. It's a very neat composition reminding me of photos I saw as a child in my father's collected travel magazines from the 30's. Such photos inspired me to travel, although in those days I never imagined I could ever visit such faraway places. You have placed the nearest tree well and it's nice that there are some people included in front of the temple.
Kind regards,
Gert

photoray (13981) 2014-05-21 7:17

Howdy Paul,

Fine view in warm lighting of the Kofuku-Ji Pagoda and Eastern Hall, and good resolution. Remarkable structures for their classical architecture and longevity.

Thanks for sharing,
Cheers,
Ray

rychem (72187) 2014-05-21 9:18

What a beautiful pagoda, really an interesting temple, beautifully composed photo, very nice sunset light, splendid photo
regards Ryszard

dip (21408) 2014-05-21 9:27

Hello Paul,
indeed amazing architecture!
I like the chosen point of view and the presentation of the place,
thanks for sharing,
Dimitris.

nikkitta (17070) 2014-05-21 14:25

Hola Paul
It seems we are going to enjoy rural Japan, learning a lot with informatives notes

Very well composed capture, where I also enjoy watching people staying in a relaxes way
Exellent POV
Best regards
Maria

adramad (72592) 2014-05-22 8:08

Hi Paul.
A wonderful composition, with this spectacular temple, which stands out for its beauty and elegance, fantastic pagoda.
A great colorful, totally natural.
Gorgeous, both the brightness and the sharpness.
Very good job. I love
Have a good day.
All the best.
Luis.

mesutilgim (0) 2014-05-23 10:52

Hello Paul,
Another very nice capture from Japan with it's traditional architecture.
The tree at left creates a nice feeling of depth of your compo.
Many interesting notes.
TSF and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

Fis2 (169847) 2014-05-23 13:56

Witaj Paul!
Wonderful architecture.
I like POV and composition.
Good colors and light.
Well done.
Good night
Krzysztof

kato (11630) 2014-05-23 20:40

Hello Paul,

You're capturing well these ancient architectures by a good angle and excellent tone/clarity, so it's interesting and impressive to see five-storey pagoda and eastern hall in Nara city. I remember that here is located the hill on Sarusawa pond. And, five-storey pagoda can be well viewed as a synbol from every place in Nara Park.

Kind regards,
mikio

Graal (103040) 2014-05-23 23:45

Hello Paul,
interesting and nice Japan series. Beautiful pagoda and hall, typical eastern style of old architecture. Good composition. Photo I like.
Have a nice WE.
Aleksander

ikeharel (112521) 2014-05-31 2:26

Good morning Paul,
Five roof covers Pagoda, most impressic=ve wooden edifice.
taken well from a fairly good distance, with the dtails shown beautifully.
Nice combined the tree on the relatively empty sky space.
Intriguing shot.
Enjoy a nice weekend,
Ike

chrislo (4099) 2014-06-01 6:05

Dag Paul,
Het is weer een mooie plaat van deze indrukwekkende cultuur en architectuur. Het boeddhisme is op veel plekken duidelijk aanwezig, zoals in de vorm van deze pagode. Mooi hoe de boom zich over het gebouw buigt en de lege ruimte van de hemel vult. De mensen geven er iets extra's aan en je PP heeft hier prima werk verricht. Fraaie heldere kleuren en ook een het interessante verhaal erbij. Heel mooi om te zien en goed vastgelegd.
Vele groeten,
Christian

Angshu (56760) 2014-06-17 21:36

Dag dear Paul
Beautful architecture, so very typical of Japan...what a contrast with the Georgian and Armenian style you experienced and show us in consecutive series. The light is subtle and framing done well with the tree. Well done!
Best Regards
Angshu

pierrefonds (113676) 2014-07-12 10:26

Bonsoir Paul,

La prйsence des gens anime la scиne. La prise de vue permet de voir une double perspective de l'architecture de la pagode. La bonne luminositй donne de belles teintes aux couleurs de l'image. Bonne soirйe.

Pierre

serp2000 (47063) 2014-09-01 11:19

Hi, Paul,
this photo is just a quintessence of Japan. Good presentation of the traditional Japanese architecture, fine details and interesting information in your note.
Best wishes,
Serghei

swapankumarroy (3769) 2014-09-28 9:13

Hello Paul,

Very lovely picture of Kofuku-ji five-storey pagoda, nicely shot and managed its color and composition, fantastic view, I liked its light management and color.

warm regards and thanks,

swapankumarroy

jmdias (114360) 2014-10-09 16:58

paul

excellent pov showing the shapes of this typical Japanese architecture. I liked these details and the quality of the image. TFS.

hugs

jorge