• January 3, 2003, in Kawagoe, annual DARUMA market or Red tumbler market is open in Kitain-temple. Unbelievable ! Outside is snowing. It has been always fine on the market and crowded. However less people are inside the temple and street stands to sell DARUMA are quite few.

• Good thing is that because of less people we could walk around, instead that we always used to buy DARUMA only. This year, we walked into inside the temple, and found Toshogu-temple which is one of important cultural assets. And also we could experience to burn a holy fire for invocation in the temple.

• On looking from Jigando-shrine,less people are there but in 2000 or in 2001, we find the congestion.
  

On the way to Kitain-temple	we found Kawagoe-Matsuri float	dancing in snow	It was in barn
Usually crowded people there	But few because of snow	Few costumers	and few shops either
Walked into Temple	Toshogu-shrine were there	Two buildings, front is Heiden	Entrance is 3.64m, width 10m?
Pair of lions guard at entrance	Okinawa had this kind lions	Back building is Haiden	Could not go inside Haiden
Ceiling of Heiden decorates Tokugawa Shogun	Built in 1633	Gosuibi Emperor wrote title	Red painted inside like palace
Around Haiden has wide space	Garden lanterns in left entrance	Tied fortune slips	votive pictures of horse
hollyhock crest on gate	Go down from gate	Hollyhock crest lantern down stairsteps	Shrine gate downward staircases
Go back to Kitain-temple	Green trees covered with snow	Bamboo bush with snow also	Next is Jigando-shrine
There is wooden figure of Tenkai-bishop	advisor of Shogun Ieyasu	Iemitsu built in 1645	Feel 350-year history
Tombs backyard	Big Jigan-bishop tomb	These are also old	Lies in the snow
Go back to Kitain-temple	Few street stands, trees covered with snow	Umbrella under snow	Usually crowded people there
Big DARUMA in Kitain-temple	to burn burn a holy fire for invocation	Usually not to go inside because of crowded people	But this year, could go inside
Next is Matsudaira-graveyard	Matsudaira has been lord in 1767 - 1866	7 generations and 100-year	5 graves died in Kawagoe
Backside of Kitain-temple	colorful clothing and	oldish style color of temple	coordinate with snow
Fortune slip on way to back	Looking back to Kitain-temple	Leaving green trees	Good-bye through burglary bridge

2004/02/01