A tourist asks me to take his picture. He´s not smiling and I´m not going to say "Cheese!". The A-Bomb-Dome´s structure behind him is etched into the blue sky. I´m standing in front of stone steps in the Peace Memorial Museum. There is a fifty year old shadow on those steps. Being there one second, gone the next, leaving her shadow behind. Somewhere this woman is maybe still waiting for the bank to open. I need fresh air. On the Internet I had found an interesting reference to a temple on the outskirts of Hiroshima. I decide to go there now. I take the next tram and leave the A-Bomb-Dome behind. I´m passing under the huge temple bell. The sounds of Japanese city life are falling behind. Birds and cicadas are taking over. The Mitaki temple is hauntingly beautiful. A path leads up through dense forest, the temple buildings are hidden each in its own little clearing, surrounded by small ponds and waterfalls. Groups of statues are hidden under the trees. Some are finely chiselled, others look raw and almost threatening in the dark under the trees. Next to the stairs that lead up to the main building, there are reliefs carved out of the rock wall. Water seeps out through the porous stone. It seems like the figurines are weeping. Smaller and smaller paths lead up along a waterfall. The rocks get slippery and it looks dangerous to go on. I turn back. Another steep path leads up to a clearing, where sitting on ancient steps, I have a great view of Hiroshima surrounded by green hills. - My Homepage - The China Room - - eMail me! -