The sound of the bell from Gion Shoja echoes the impermanence of all things. The color of the flowers of the sala tree reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. This is the famous opening of "The Tale of the Heike," which many remember having memorized during their middle school years.
The photo is for illustrative purposes only. It is not a picture of Gion Shoja.
So where is Gion Shoja located? I remember my middle school textbook mentioning its location, but many people I asked do not remember. Some even thought Gion Shoja was a facility in Kyoto.
In fact, Gion Shoja, mentioned at the beginning of "The Tale of the Heike," is located in India. It was a facility donated to Buddha by the wealthy man Sudatta of the Kosala kingdom and is still a sacred site of Buddhism today.
Moreover, while "The Tale of the Heike" mentions "the sound of the bell from Gion Shoja," originally, there were no bells in Gion Shoja. Bells have their origins in China and did not exist in India; the bells present at Gion Shoja today were donated by a Japanese organization.
