Kōshi-byō is a Confucian temple in Nagasaki, Japan. Today the land on which it
stands is owned by the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
A building at the rear of the shrine houses the Museum of Chinese History and
Palace Museum. It features large illuminated photographs of the old Silk Road
and models of early Chinese inventions such as the world's first seismograph.
Displayed on the second floor are more than 80 treasure-class articles of
varying antiquity on loan directly from the Chinese National Museum and Palace
Museum in Beijing.
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Entering the Confucius Shrine.
A temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple for the veneration
of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism in Chinese
folk religion and other East Asian religions. They were formerly the
site of the administration of the imperial examination in China, Korea,
Japan and Vietnam and often housed schools and other studying
facilities.
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Chinese garden.
The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over
three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese
emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to
impress, and the more intimate gardens created by scholars, poets,
former government officials, soldiers and merchants, made for reflection
and escape from the outside world. They create an idealized miniature
landscape, which is meant to express the harmony that should exist
between man and nature.
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Small stone arch bridge.
Garden bridges used to have a symbolic meaning along with a practical
one. A bridge symbolizes traveling and transition from one state to
another, or from one ‘world’ to another. Stepping on a bridge gives us a
choice – either we cross it, we take time on the bridge, or we turn
back. Garden bridges also symbolize the way from the world of humans to
the world of nature, to paradise and immortality.
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Chinese wishing tree.
A wish tree is a tree, usually distinguished by species, location or
appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such
trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual
value. Postulants make votive offerings in hopes of having a wish
granted, or a prayer answered, from a nature spirit, saint or goddess,
depending on the local tradition.
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It is a Chinese tradition to tie your wish to a wishing tree in the
hope that it will come true.
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Dragon-headed Bixi with a stele.
Bixi, or Bi Xi (Wade–Giles: Pi-hsi), is a figure from Chinese mythology.
One of the 9 sons of the Dragon King, he is depicted as a dragon with
the shell of a turtle. Stone sculptures of Bixi have been used in
Chinese culture for centuries as a decorative plinth for commemorative
steles and tablets.
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Sculptures of Bixi are traditionally rubbed for good luck, which can
cause conservation issues.
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See more at
Bixi - Wikipedia.
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Chinese guardian lions.
Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional
Chinese architectural ornament. Typically made of stone, they are also
known as stone lions or shishi. They are known in colloquial
English as lion dogs or foo dogs / fu dogs.
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The concept, which originated and became popular in Chinese Buddhism,
features a pair of highly stylized lions—often one male with a ball
which represents the material elements and one female with a cub—which
represents the element of spirit, were thought to protect the building
from harmful spiritual influences and harmful people that might be a
threat.
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See more at
Chinese guardian lions - Wikipedia.
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Main gate.
The front gate of the temple is called the Lingxing Gate.
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The Lingxing Gate (Lingxingmen) is found in front of Confucian temples
to symbolize the Confucian school's willingness to accept people with
talent and virtue.
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The name Lingxing refers to the Taoist Star of Knowledge whom
Confucius is often regarded as a reincarnation of.
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The roof of the main gate.
Traditional Chinese architecture employed a number of different roofing
styles, which utilized different shapes, slopes, and ridges. The types
of roofs would vary by historical era, with certain types of roofs
gaining particular prominent through the reigns of certain dynasties.
Other factors which shaped roofs in traditional Chinese architecture
included precipitation and cultural connotations.
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Incense burner.
Incense in China is traditionally used in a wide range of Chinese
cultural activities including religious ceremonies, ancestor veneration,
traditional medicine, and in daily life. Known as xiang (lit.
'fragrance'), incense was used by the Chinese cultures starting from
Neolithic times with it coming to greater prominence starting from the
Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.
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Xiangbang (with "stick; club") means "incense stick; joss
stick". Two "incense" synonyms specifying religious offerings to
ancestors or deities are gāoxiāng ("high incense") and
gōngxiāng ("offering incense").
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See more at
Incense in China - Wikipedia.
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Courtyards.
Inside there are normally three courtyards, although sometimes there are
only two.
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Main courtyard with the 72 disciples.
According to Sima Qian, Confucius said: "The disciples who received my
instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven
individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability."
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It was traditionally believed that Confucius had three thousand
students, but that only 72 mastered what he taught.
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Very little is known of most of Confucius's students, but some of them
are mentioned in the Analects of Confucius.
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See more at
Disciples of Confucius - Wikipedia.
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Chinese guardian lions.
These guardian lions are located at the entrance to the stairs leading
to the main building.
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Stone relief of dragons between a flight of stairs.
The Chinese dragon, also known as the loong, long or
lung, is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese
folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many
animal-like forms such as turtles and fish, but are most commonly
depicted as snake-like with four legs.
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They traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers,
particularly control over water. The dragon is also a symbol of power,
strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it in East Asian
culture.
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See more at
Chinese dragon - Wikipedia.
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Stone statues in front of the main building.
The worship of Confucius centred upon offering sacrifices to Confucius's
spirit in the Confucian temple.
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A dance known as the Eight-Row Dance, consisting of eight columns of
eight dancers each, was also performed. Originally this was a Six-Row
Dance, as performed for the lesser aristocracy, but in 1477 Confucius
was allowed the imperial honour of the eight-row dance since he
posthumously received the title of king. Musicians who accompanied
this dance played a form of music termed yayue.
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In addition to worshipping Confucius, Confucian temples also honour
the "Four Correlates", the "Twelve Philosophers", and other disciples
and Confucian scholars through history. The composition and number of
figures worshipped changed and grew through time.
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Chinese Ceramic Guardian Lions.
Plus a pair of guardian lions, these are located on either side of the
door to the main building.
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Main building.
The main building is called the Dachengdian, variously translated as
"Hall of Great Achievement", "Hall of Great Completion", or "Hall of
Great Perfection".
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Unlike Taoist or Buddhist temples, Confucian temples do not normally
have images. In the early years, it appears that the spirits of
Confucius and his disciples were represented with wall paintings and
clay or wooden statues. Official temples also contained images of
Confucius himself.
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However, there was opposition to this practice, which was seen as
imitative of Buddhist temples. It was also argued that the point of
the imperial temples was to honour Confucius's teachings, not the man
himself.
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Ritual halberds.
Halberd (Fu) is a type of weapon with a handle and a honed, gourd-shaped
edge. Halberd (Yue) is similar to the "fu" halberd, but slightly larger.
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A halberd, for those not familiar with the weaponry of bygone eras, is
like a massive (thick and wide) sword blade mounted on a long handle
as a pole-arm.
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The ancient Chinese emperors used to give a halberd to their generals
as a symbolic reward for their military achievements. Thus the halberd
represents authority and triumph.
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The Chinese name for the halberd is ji which sounds similar to
the word ji which means auspiciousness and good fortune.
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See more at
Ji (polearm) - Wikipedia.
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Four Heavenly Kings.
The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods or devas, each of whom is
believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In the
Sanskrit language of India, they are called the "Caturmahārāja" or
"Caturmahārājikādeva": "Four Great Kings".
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In Chinese mythology, they are known as "Sì Dàtiānwáng" (lit. 'Four
Great Heavenly Kings') or collectively as "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" (lit.
'Good climate').
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They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able
to command a legion of supernatural creatures
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See more at
Four Heavenly Kings - Wikipedia.
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Museum of Chinese History and Palace Museum.
A building at the rear of the shrine houses the Museum of Chinese
History and Palace Museum.
-
It features large illuminated photographs of the old Silk Road and
models of early Chinese inventions such as the world's first
seismograph.
-
Displayed on the second floor are more than 80 treasure-class articles
of varying antiquity on loan directly from the Chinese National Museum
and Palace Museum in Beijing.
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Chinese Ceramic Guardian Lions.
Plus a pair of guardian lions, these are located on either side of the
door to the museum.
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Iron red large plate with cloud and dragon design.
The Tongzhi period of the Qing dynasty (1862-1874).
- 10.0cm x 64.5cm x 43.5cm.
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Covered jar with cloud and dragon design painted in green.
The Daoguang period of the Qing dynasty (1821-1850).
- 21.5cm x 18.5cm x 6.5cm x 8.5cm.
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Dragon robe.
Dragon robes, also known as gunlongpao or longpao for
short, is a form of everyday clothing which had a Chinese dragon, called
long, as the main decoration; it was worn by the emperors of
China.
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The Chinese dragons have been associated with the emperor of China
since ancient times.
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When used on clothing, the Chinese dragons denote the superiority of
its wearer or his aspirations.
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Since the Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties, the wearing of robes
with dragon patterns were forbidden for subjects of the emperor
without his authorization.
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See more at
Dragon robe - Wikipedia.
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Phoenix robe.
The Chinese dragons have been associated with the emperor of China since
ancient times,[6]: 89 while the fenghuang is associated with the
empress of China.
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Fènghuáng are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that
reign over all other birds. The males were originally called
fèng and the females huáng, but this distinction of
gender is often no longer made and they are blurred into a single
feminine entity so that the bird can be paired with the Chinese
dragon, which is traditionally deemed male.
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The fenghuang's body symbolizes the celestial bodies: the head is the
sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the
wind, the feet are the earth, and the tail is the planets.
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The fenghuang is said to have originated in the sun. Its body contains
the five fundamental colors: black, white, red, yellow, and green.
These colours are said to represent Confucius' five virtues.
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The phoenix represented power sent from the heavens to the Empress.
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See more at
Fenghuang - Wikipedia.
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Ivory carving.
The Chinese have long valued ivory for both art and utilitarian objects.
Early reference to the Chinese export of ivory is recorded after the
Chinese explorer Zhang Qian ventured to the west to form alliances to
enable the eventual free movement of Chinese goods to the west; as early
as the first century BC, ivory was moved along the Northern Silk Road
for consumption by western nations.
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Southeast Asian kingdoms included tusks of the Indian elephant in
their annual tribute caravans to China.
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Chinese craftsmen carved ivory to make everything from images of
deities to the pipe stems and end pieces of opium pipes.
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Ancient bronze sake vessel.
Elephant-shaped sake bottle for festivals. A bowl for holding sacred
sake, which is offered as the second part os a medicinal ceremony.
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Ancient bronze sake vessel.
Ancient bronze sake vessel for holding sacred sake offered at the end of
a festival.
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At that time, statues of cows commonly used for sacrifices were carved
or shaped like cows.
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Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu) period (770–476 bce), and the Warring
States (Zhanguo) period (475–221 bce).
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Chinese dragon masks.
Dragons are known as a symbol of prosperity and fortune in China.
Chinese Dragon Mask reflects the traditional beliefs and emotions
associated with the Chinese New Year. The pattern is an appropriate
representation of deities, spirits, good and evil souls, and animal
ancestors.
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Leaving Nagasaki Confucius Shrine.
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