Byōdō-in: Goshuin and Phoenix

In Japanese Buddhist temples, as well as some Shinto shrines, there’s a pretty awesome tradition that consists of getting a goshuin against a small donation.

A goshuin is calligraphy of usually the name of the temple and the date of your visit. You can have it made on pretty much any piece of paper (that you provide) but usually people who collect goshuin have a special book designed for them called a goshuinchō. They can be bought at pretty much any temple providing goshuin. They’re of many different kinds, from the most basic to the most intricate.

I already have a goshuinchō for the temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage that is slowly but surely filling up (I sometimes share them on my site Setouchi Explorer) and during my latest visit to Kyoto last Spring, I decided to start another one for any other temple I may visit.

However, I decided to add a small twist to that one. For each goshuin, I’ll also try to draw an iconic element of the place.

I started with Byōdō-in (where I bought this new goshuinchō) and here is what it looks like:

What do you think?

Hopefully, I’ll have more to show you soon.