A painted image of the guardian deity Bishamonten (毘沙門天) dating to the Heian period (794-1185) at Kōdaiin Temple (光臺院) on Mount Kōya (高野山) in Wakayama Prefecture
Image from "天部の諸尊 / Divine Figures in the Realm of Deva" published by the Kōyasan Reihōkan Museum (高野山霊宝館) on Mount Kōya in 1994, page 24
Gatehouse to Shrine
(Enoshima Island, Fujisawa, Kanagawa Pref., Japan)
Zuishinmon, the gatehouse at the top of the first set of stairs, just past the grand torii gate, is modeled after the mythical Dragon King Castle (Ryugu-jo) that is depicted in the Japanese folktale “Urashima Taro.”
The kanji characters used for Zuishinmon (瑞心門) literally mean “pure” + “heart” + “gate” and named as such in hope that the hearts of visitors will be purified as they pass through the gate as they approach the shrines atop the island.
In this shot, we can also enjoy the sight of chochin paper lanterns that have been put out for the New Year’s holidays and used to light up the winding stairs leading to the top of the island.
Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
28 mm ISO 100 for 1 sec. at ƒ/22