I stumbled upon this kanji completely by accident. I saw the Big Buddha and a pagoda on a hill from the train and decided to stop and take a better look. What I didn’t know was that this was not so much a shrine, but a cemetery. I didn’t know the kanji for cemetery but learned it that day. And what a cool discovery it was.
The sign told me exactly where I was, but one of the kanji had me puzzled. I knew that 三浦大佛 told me I was at the Miura Big Buddha. I had spent enough time on the trains in this part of the country to know that 久里浜 was Kurihama. I also understood 園 as park or garden, but 霊 had me stumped. I pulled out my phone and crudely drew the kanji. Well, how about that? 霊 came back as spirit.
So cemetery is a spirit park or spirit garden. How cool is that? I think it takes some of the negative connotations out of the word cemetery.
Rolling Tsuchinoko 