Several silhouettes were moving around on the stairs just beside Mejiro Station

Stairs in Mejiro
Stairs by Mejiro Station
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When people hear the name Mejiro, they probably think that it is a set with Meguro. The combination of black and white is like Reversi, sitting well together. And both Mejiro and Meguro have the same Fudoson, a shrine dedicated to Acala.

Interestingly, in addition to Mejiro (white eyes) and Meguro (black eyes), there are other Fudoson in Tokyo called by the names of their colors, such as Meaka (red eyes) Fudo, Meao (blue eyes) Fudo, and Meki (yellow eyes) Fudo, all together called Goshiki (five-color) Fudo. It's like a Super Sentai series where the Acala are divided by color.

The reason why Fudo statues are divided into five colors is because of the five colors (white, black, red, blue, and yellow) of the five elements concept. The concept of the five elements is a natural philosophy that originated in ancient China, which holds that all things are composed of five elements: fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. When these elements are expressed in terms of colors, fire corresponds to red, water to black, wood to green, gold to white, and earth to yellow.

If we assume that all things fit into the five elements, then the white of Mejiro represents the cold, solid, and certain nature of metal. When I thought about it, I felt that the image of rich people that people get from the name Mejiro is not so wrong.

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日本語
Jan 2022 IN THE CITY TOKYO

PHOTO DATA

No

12158

Shooting Date

Dec 2021

Posted On

January 27, 2022

Modified On

August 16, 2023

Place

Mejiro, Tokyo

Genre

Street Photography

Camera

SONY ALPHA 7R II

Lens

SAMYANG AF24MM F2.8 FE

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