The Buddhist Monk’s Residence   Location: Japan

This small apartment is part of a temple complex built in the 1970s in central Japan. It was home to Buddhist Monks from the temple, which is located just 100 meters up the road. The number of monks that lived inside the apartment is unclear, but whoever lived in this particular section chose to decorate their sliding doors with these lovely hand painted murals. One is of a collection of Daruma – a hollow, round, doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. The other mural is of a Japanese dragon hovering above crashing waves. Both were hand painted in 1976, and are still in excellent condition, even if the rest of the building is not!