Lightning burns down World Heritage temple in Kyoto Japan
The Buddha just wants a cut of the insurance money…
Lightning strike suspected of starting fire that razed Buddhist temple hall
Mainichi - August 25, 2008
KYOTO — A weekend fire that destroyed a hall at a temple designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was possibly caused by lightning, officials said. he fire that broke out in a corner of Daigoji temple razed the Juntei Kannondo hall and a rest house. The blaze died down at about 2:50 a.m. on Sunday….more…
A seldom mentioned fact of Japan is that all temples and castles are not original—They all have burnt down several times in the past.
And, if they don’t burn down, they tear them down.
Shrines are “rebuilt” on an 80 year cycle. In the worse case, castles, they are rebuilt as ferro-concrete facades sort of like a low-rent Disneyland.
Whenever a Japanese temple and especially a shrine burns down, less than divine causes should be considered.
UPDATE: There’s no evidence of a lightning storm in Kyoto last night. See the Comments section for more info.
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August 25th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
My buddy “GuyJean” says that he, “couldn’t find much evidence of a lightning storm in Kyoto last night.”
(Japan Meteorological Agency says no rain–lower humidity.)