Apr 13, 2015 - 1 min read

Toun-ji and Sugiyama Shrine

Cherry blossoms symbolize the transient beauty of life

By Cathy Cawood

Community writer

Sugiyama Shrine's distinctive roof

Koma-inu at Sugiyama Shrine

Tasseled rope hanging from the torii of Sugiyama Shrine

Cherry trees rise above the rooftops

There are many different colored spring blossoms here!

Golden ornament on a rooftop

Bamboo and cherry blossom in lovely harmony

The cemetery of Toun-ji Temple is surrounded by cherry trees

It's fitting that cherry trees should symbolize the transient beauty of life

View over Machida from the hillside above the cemetery of Toun-ji Temple

A statue under a curtain of blossom

Even the temple car park is transformed by the blossoms

Small red torii amid the trees

Fallen petals sprinkled over a rock in the garden

One of the prettiest places I have seen this spring is Toun-ji Temple and adjacent Sugiyama Shrine in Machida. There are cherry trees everywhere, even around the temple car park, which was liberally sprinkled with fallen petals. Behind the temple there is a cemetery on the hillside, which somehow seemed a fitting place to reflect on the fleeting nature of spring, blossoms, beauty, and human life. Above the cemetery there was a splendid view of Machida beyond the cherry blossoms.

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Cathy Cawood

By Cathy Cawood

Community writer

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