At nearby Oyaji Temple, set at the entrance to Oya Cave, we saw the mystical 9th century Senjyu Kannon Bosatsu carved into the stone. This Buddha image has hands clasped in prayer, but many more arms radiate from the body. It is quite sobering to gaze at this 1200-year-old carving! A series of nine additional Buddha images are carved in relief on the cave walls. They are the oldest Buddhist reliefs in Japan.
In the prefectural museum, we were excited to see a Hamada pottery collection. Hamada, Shoji is a National Treasure in Japan, and we imagine our master potter friend Gerry Williams must have met him at some point. Hamada believes in the functionality of pots, as Gerry does. We saw some lovely glazes and designs.
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