Our Japanese friends take their religions seriously
At the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple in Kyoto the Blogs were guided around the temple gate and temple which nestle against the mountains. On one side there is a 100ft drop to the ground below. We were told that back in the 19th century a trend developed among the local devotees to prove that their gods were looking after them. This proof required two things,
- the devotee had to jump off the temple walkway 100ft above the ground
- the devotee had to survive
Amazingly more than 85% of those who tried it survived. It seems that there was sufficient foliage below to break their fall leaving them with just cuts, bruises and fractures. Rather sensibly the practice was outlawed.
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