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Location: Ryūkoku-ji Temple, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Timestamp: 14:07・2024/12/10
Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter
ISO 320 for 1/600 sec. at ƒ/8
Acros film simulation
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Location: Ryūkoku-ji Temple, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Timestamp: 14:09・2024/12/10
Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter
ISO 320 for 1/1250 sec. at ƒ/8
Classic Negative film simulation
Itatōba: From India to China to Japan
板塔婆の旅路：インドから中国、そして日本へ
While enjoying a short break from a business meeting near Ueno Station in Tokyo, I took a short break to wander through the local area before heading back to Yokohama. My meandering walk brought me to Ryūkoku-ji Temple, a small, nondescript oasis in Taito Ward, Tokyo.
Compared to my family’s cemetery in rural Shizuoka Prefecture, which is surrounded by bamboo groves and rice paddies, this cemetery in central Tokyo struck me as surprisingly similar. Despite being nestled within the urbanscape of high-rise towers made of glass, steel, and concrete, it felt just as calm, quiet, and peaceful as the one back home in Shizuoka minus the croaking frogs.
As is quite common at most Buddhist cemeteries in Japan, wooden grave markers stood upright behind family gravestones or leaned against them. These markers, known as itatōba (板塔婆), hiratōba (平塔婆), or sotōba (卒塔婆), all essentially mean the same thing: flat, wooden grave markers.
Unlike similarly looking markers found at Shinto cemeteries, these markers feature five notches on either side, symbolizing the five elements of Japanese Buddhist thought: sky, wind, fire, water, and earth, from top to bottom. A vertical inscription in Sanskrit further hints at their Buddhist origins.
The history of these markers originated in India from where they made their way to Japan via China. Over the centuries, the symbols and their designs evolved, yet the reference to the five elements has remained a constant connection to the spiritual traditions they represent.
During this late afternoon, the clear, bright sky provided beautiful contrasts, with the dark shadows and bright areas facing the sun creating a dramatic effect. I felt this scene would be good for a monochrome shot, capturing not only the details of the itatōba but also the quiet atmosphere of the cemetery.
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