Japanese Anime Temple!? ; Ryoho-ji (Moe-dera)

January 19, 2011 - Anime & Manga, Place, Videos - Tagged: Buddha, Cosplay, Girls, Shrines&Temples

Can you guess what this signboard is for? You may think that the signboard is for an anime festival or something, but it is not. This is for a Buddhist temple called Ryoho-ji!

"The Citizen Of Hachioji" some rights reserved. flickr

Ryoho-ji, commonly known as “Moe-dera”, is located in Hachio-ji city, suburb of Tokyo. For the wide range publicity, they are using an anime girl named “Toro Benten (goddess)” as the mascot character. Moe (pronounced [mo.e]) is a Japanese slang word used by otaku people referring to a strong attraction to something specific. And dera simply means a temple.

Now, I want you to watch some amazing videos.

1) The theme song of the temple.

2) The recitation of the Buddha’s life story

3) A scene from a festival held at Ryoho-ji

What do you think?

Me?

I couldn’t believe my own eyes at first. But as far as I have learned from the website, it seems like they are never joking; rather, they are quite serious! If you are interested in both Buddhism and anime, you should visit Ryoho-ji (^^)/

Source: Ryoho-ji Website