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八角堂はどの方向からも同じように見える。だが、古代寺院の伽藍は大概の場合南北を軸にして建物を配置しているため、夢殿も南側の面が「正面」となる。しかし、南側から夢殿を見ると、後方の余裕があまりないため屋根の様子が少し分かりづらい。その為廻廊の角の方向に下がった方が屋根の様子を見るのにはよい。
写真は夢殿を北西の方角から見たもの。屋根の傾斜が比較的急で、軒の出方が深い。「夢殿」は奈良時代の建築だが、鎌倉期に大規模な改修を受けており、その際の改造の結果が屋根の傾斜と軒の出方に現れているそうだ。創建時の軽快な屋根を頂く姿を想像してみるのも一興だが、身に対して軽くなった屋根がバランス的に釣り合うのか、少々疑問でもある。それとも、現在の姿に見慣れたためにそう考えるのだろうか。
夢殿の北側に見えるのは絵殿・舎利殿で鎌倉期の建築、重要文化財である。
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The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.Text by Steve Smith.
