Kyoto Mibu-dera unusual stupa

Stupas are interesting religious constructions, shaped like a mound and containing Buddhist relics, often found in the Buddhist countries but quite rare in Japan. However, an original and unusual stupa can be visited in Kyoto, inside the Mibu-dera Temple: covered with hundreds of stone statues, this stupa represents the culmination of a hundred-years old collection...

Old Amida Buddha and Jizo statues were collected here since the 16th century and, at the beginning of the 19th century, to the existing collection were added many other statues, brought here due to various modernization works taking place in Kyoto. Finally, they were arranged in the current stupa quite recently, in 1989.

Here's a panoramic photo of the Mibu-dera as it looked this spring, with the stupa visible on the left and, of course, with a blooming cherry tree...