On Friday, Kundan and I took advantage of the bright sun to take a walk to Temple No.12 Nosaka-ji and the Yamato Art Museum up on the hill. The latter features Munakata Shiko, a woodblock artist who rapidly carves away print blocks in a style reminding me of Margaret Preston, constantly echoing a 
theme of round-faced women and dense calligraphic backgrounds. Nosaka-ji has a garden known for good spring water filtered through the rocks of the mountain behind it, people come to draw its water and the water is a blessing of the Kannon. Abbot Arai of this Temple hails originally from Kyoto and is said to be very fastidious and strict. His temple has a unique O-bon celebration on 16 August. notable were the many carved wooden figures including a life-size bull in the main two-storey gate.
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