ding behind this is the depository for the complete collection of
the Buddhist scriptures, contained in a fine revolving octagonal
bookcase with red lacquered panels and gilt pillars. In the centre of
this court stands a fine bronze torii. A flight of steps gives access to
the second court. Just inside of this are two stone lions in the act of
leaping down; on the right stand a bell tower, a bronze candelabrum
presented by the King of Loochoo, and another bell presented by the King
of Korea; there is also a bronze candelabrum from Holland. This
diversity of gifts indicates the general interest at that time in this
shrine. All of these articles are of very unusual style of workmanship.

At the left extremity of this same platform stands the Temple of
Wakushi, dedicated to the patron saint of Ieyasu, for which reason its
Buddhist emblems have been left intact. The building is a blaze of gold
and harmonious colors. Stone steps lead up to the exquisitely beautiful
gate called Yomei-mon; it has a fence on each side. Passing through the
gateway, we entered the third court, in which the Buddhist priests used
to offer liturgies on the occasions of the two great annual festivals.
In this court are also two buildings, one containing a stage for the
performance of the sacred dance, and the other an altar for burning the
fragrant cedar while prayers were recited. Next we have the Karu-mon
or Chinese gate. It gives admittance to the main shrines. The folding
doors of the oratory are lavishly decorated with arabesques of peonies,
in gilt relief.

[Illustration: _A five-story pagoda_]

The chapel is a large matted room, forty-two feet long by twenty-seven
feet deep, with an antechamber at each end. The chapel and the
antechambers are all very profusely decorated with pictures on the
walls, with carved panels and painted ceilings. The Holy of Holies of
this temple is accessible to the public only by special permit. It is
composed of three chambers, and here Japanese Buddhist art is exhibited
in its perfection,--a blaze of gold and color, with its elaborate
paintings of court personages, its precious woods, inlaid and carved,
and its richly lacquered pillars and splendid metal work--the whole a
marvel of detail, all the more marvellous because it is in perfect
preservation. Now that it has been changed into a Shinto shrine and is
under the patronage of the Government, the Buddhas and attendant Buddhas
of the olden time are no longer t