Japanese Maples

These pictures were taken on a Saturday in early November when I went to Morioka with Angela, the other JET in my town, and a few Japanese locals. We found a temple and a nearby public garden which had some amazing red maples!

Notice the roofing tile with the swastika. You'll notice it's left facing. Apparently, Buddhist swastikas in Japan after the mid-20th century are almost universally left-facing because of the association with Nazism. The swastika used in Buddhist art and scripture is known in Japanese as a manji (which literally just means "the Chinese character for eternity"), and represents Dharma, universal harmony, and the balance of opposites.