Tokyo Temples A guide to forty of the best temples of central Tokyo Marcus Powles 9781515135807 Books
Download As PDF : Tokyo Temples A guide to forty of the best temples of central Tokyo Marcus Powles 9781515135807 Books
Tokyo Temples
Tokyo Temples A guide to forty of the best temples of central Tokyo Marcus Powles 9781515135807 Books
I am so lucky that this ebook was published just a few weeks before my visit to Tokyo. Just exactly what I was looking for! A small book jammed with culture and highly practical info (including links to maps) about the best temples in Tokyo. One of the best features is that temples where you can have a taste of Japanese Buddhism (where English-language activity is provided) are indicated. Thank you Marcus.Product details
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Tokyo Temples A guide to forty of the best temples of central Tokyo Marcus Powles 9781515135807 Books Reviews
Living in Thailand I am used to temples being an integral part of life here, whether for sage advise, lucky lottery numbers, auspicious days to buy a new house, or just for a place of solitude (although few Thai temples actually offer that!). I have got used to leaving my wife to her devotional duties and wandering the temple grounds or poking my nose into quiet rooms to view the art works. I enjoy it, but my enjoyment would be heightened if I was to know more about the art or history of the places and objects I encounter.
Marcus' book performs that function expertly, albeit for Tokyo. It has just the level of detail and information I would like to have while visiting the temples here.
The books starts with a short history of Buddhism in Japan which is interesting without being dry. Following are a few dos and don'ts for visiting the temples (I really like the idea of the go-shuin book).
The introduction is followed by a description of each temple - each gets its own chapter. The format for each chapter is the same the address of the temple, URLs to the temple websites, directions and a link (thankfully short) to Google maps. There then follows a page or so of the history and highlights of the temple, as well as any activities of special interest that happen at the temple. This is all written in a nice informal style from a person who clearly has great enthusiasm for his subjects yet without being sermonly or too didactic.
The only downside to this book are the tiny black and white photographs. They do little to encourage you see the temple, indeed they are in stark contrast to the word description that accompanies it.
The book ends with an appendix containing further links and suggested reading.
For anyone visiting Tokyo who wishes to see something a little off the usual tourist sites, I would thoroughly recommend this book, even for non-religious people, because, as I have found, you don't have to be religious to appreciate the art and history of these little temple gems.
GREAT to determine which ones 2 c
First, the pros I liked this book for the most part. I live in Japan and have for 12 years. I have studied and understand Japanese Buddhism, and I have a deep respect for the religion and its icons/statuary. Mr Powles clearly knows his subject(s) and has done his homework. I believe that his guidebook omitted some wonderful Tōkyō-area temples, but among the 40 he selected are some of the best in the city. And the information found within the book is often hard to find or found only in bits and pieces through scattered sources in English. The version (which I bought) even has hyperlinks to the temples in Google Maps and to the temples' websites, if they have them--both convenient features.
But here's why I gave this book 2 stars it is REPLETE with errors, mostly in the transliteration of names, nouns, places, and buildings; but also grammatical, syntactical, and linguistic. There are three major styles of the Romanization (transliteration) of Japanese Hepburn, Kunrei, and Nihon. There are pros and cons to each (I prefer Hepburn, and it's by far the most common style). Had he simply chosen one of these three and consistently used it, I would not be writing this review. I'm not sure which he chose (if any), but either he or his editor has botched it. Beyond the inconsistent Romanization of Japanese, the Romanization is often just wrong. For example, the Buddhist deity 不動明王 (Hep Fudō Myō-ō; hiragana ふどうみょうおう), is, throughout his text, rendered "Fudomyo", which is incorrect and demonstrates a lack of familiarity with the subject of Buddhism. The "o" is long in all three occurrences of it in the deity's name Fudō Myō-ō, with the hyphen between the two in the last instance necessary to avoid confusing the two syllables as one long syllable. For anyone coming to Japan, pronunciation matters. Holding a vowel for two beats vs. one beat is important. In Japanese, it literally can change the meaning of a word. And another error within that one simple name is that he makes it one word, where it is not it is two. Another example is that he Romanizes "どう” as if it were "ど". The first word is, in the context of Buddhist temples, translated as "hall." The second, when a word, means "precisely", "very much", "Saturday (abbreviated)", or "degree". It doesn't mean "hall" because the syllable is not held for two beats. And on and on "Senso-ji", when it should be "Sensō-ji"; "Kobo Daishi", when is should be "Kōbō Daishi"--and in this case it's the name of a man extremely important to Japanese history and to Japanese Buddhism, so getting it wrong is lazy at best and insulting to the religion and culture at worst. And on and on and on the Romanization errors go. "Shu" for "shū"; "Jizo" for "Jizō", "Ota" instead of "Ōta", and so forth for hundreds of words.
Other errors "Emma" instead of "Enma" (Jp 閻魔, えんま); calling sects "schools"; and on.
There are countless small errors in his understanding of Japanese words and grammar, too. For example, 御朱印 (Hep goshuin; hiragana ごしゅいん), which is in Japanese both a singular and plural word depending on the context of the sentence in which it is used. It is never rendered as "goshuins". In this case it is similar to the word "deer" in English, which is both singular and plural. Also on the subject of goshuin, he does not seem to understand what they are. Mr Powles describes them on page 16 as "...lines of hand-painted [sic] calligraphy; a central mantra [sic], the date, and the name of the temple". This is erroneous. First, goshuin are not "painted", they are written (the verb used here is "書く" "kaku") with a calligraphy brush. Second, that which is written in the center of a goshuin offered by a temple is almost never a mantra (sometimes it is, but it's rare), but usually the name of the principle object (deity) of worship (本尊; honzon) of the temple, or perhaps another deity (not the honzon) worshipped there. To his credit, however, the author does mention that goshuin are sacred, though I wish he would have better stressed their religious significance with a brief history of them and why they are sacred and not mere stamps to be collected. Finally, on the subject of goshuin, temple etiquette and an understanding of goshuin reveals they are best requested at the end of a visit. Also, they are "received"--the recipient should politely say, "itadakimasu" or "arigatō gozaimasu", preferrably both, upon receipt; they are not merely purchased for the sake of being a souvenir (some monks or priests or nuns will ask you if you have first prayed or copied a sutra at the temple before giving you a goshuin).
And then there are the grammatical and syntactical errors, heretofore mentioned, and inconsistencies throughout the text. I began to wonder if Mr Powles had an editor at all. If he did, that person was asleep at the wheel. If he did not, he should have requested the services of one, preferably a person who understands the Japanese language and Japanese Buddhism.
All in all, I would give this book 2.5 stars if possible as a compromise between its strengths and its weaknesses. There isn't anything mediocre about this book. Where this book is good, it's great; where it is weak, it's found in desperate want. (Should the author desire my services as an editor, because of my shared passion for and understanding of his subject I would be happy to render them.) This book is a gem because it is one-of-a-kind in English, and for exploring Tōkyō's numerous temples it's handy. But it's flaws are too numerous to make it a book I can recommend without caveats. I wish, however, that a second edition will be published in the future that is cleaned up and ready for a long life on shelves as what could truly be an indispensable guide to Tōkyō's many wonderful halls of Buddhist worship and meditation.
I am so lucky that this ebook was published just a few weeks before my visit to Tokyo. Just exactly what I was looking for! A small book jammed with culture and highly practical info (including links to maps) about the best temples in Tokyo. One of the best features is that temples where you can have a taste of Japanese Buddhism (where English-language activity is provided) are indicated. Thank you Marcus.
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