Lóngshānsì 龍山寺 !

by Kazu

This is one of the most famous power spot in Taiwan.

 -from Wikipedia-
Mengjia Longshan Temple (Chinese: 艋舺龍山寺; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Báng-kah Liông-san-sī) is a temple in Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan. The temple was built in Taipei in 1738 by settlers from Fujian, China. It served as a place of worship and a gathering place for the Chinese settlers. The temple has been destroyed either in full or in part on numerous earthquakes and fires.

During World War II, on 31 May 1945 it was hit by American bombers during the Raid on Taipei, who claimed the Japanese were hiding armaments inside. The main building and the left corridor were damaged and many precious artifacts and artworks were lost in the ensuing fire.

 Taipei residents have nevertheless consistently rebuilt and renovated it, and did so again after the end of the Second World War a few months later. Longshan is seen as an emblematic example of Taiwanese classical architecture, with southern Chinese influences commonly seen in older buildings.
Like most temples in Taiwan, the Temple worships a mixture of Buddhist, Taoist, and folk deities such as Matsu.

by Kazu again

As a Japanese, I am familiar with the mixture of religions. It can be said that we worship Shinto and Buddhism.

 Every visitors were worshiping with lit incense.

The gate of the temple could be seen nicer from inside than from outside.

 From the left, Tou-san, Mr. Kitazawa, the Secretary General of Hokkaido Sorachi Japan-Taiwan Friendship Association and Mr. Igarashi, the Chair of Iwamizawa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

My supervisor Mr. Yamane, Director General for Sorachi Sub-prefectural area of Hokkaido is beside the President of the association Mr. Tajima.

It was twenty eight degrees in Celsius at that time but Mr.Yamane felt comfortable even with his Jacket.

To be honest, I was concerned on his health condition because he attended this business jaunt after the days of bar-hopping in Iwamizawa and Sapporo.

I am very relieved that he did not had health problem in this tour.

Every visitor pray for their happiness and the rosy future of the nation, I think.

 The aroma of the incense was not so strong for the number .

At first, Mr. Yamane was lost and I was lost after that on the premises of the temple.

We had to experience the national ceremony later but we did not recognize the weight of the occasion at this moment.

To be continued.