Temples, Temples, Temples!

This is Kinkakuji. In English, this is the Golden Pavilion. It is a Buddhist temple, originally built as a retirement residence for a shogun. Yes, it really is gold. Goldleaf on Japanese lacquer, to be specific.

In the 1220's this was the site of a villa for shoguns. Shogun Yoshimitsu built the pavilion in 1394 when he retired. After his death, the site was made into a Buddhist temple. The pavilion is the only building remaining from his time. It never ceases to amaze me how OLD buildings outside of America are.

Despite appearances, that isn't a rooster on the roof. It is a Chinese phoenix.

The gardens around the temple are absolutely stunning.

The path around Mirror Lake.

One of the small islands in the middle of Mirror Lake.

The iris around the edge of the lake was in full bloom. They were some of the prettiest flowers we saw on this trip. We were about a month too late to catch the cherry blossoms and azealas.

In Japan, a holy site is not complete with just one temple building. There is always a slew of mouments, shrines, and temples in the area. Here are some of the other sights at Kinkakuji:

This is another small pond in the area, named An-min-taku. It is located on the hillside above the pavilion. The pagoda stands on an island in the pond. Notice how GREEN the scenery was!

This is a small monument that obviously has significance, but there was no English sign to explain things. The largest rock appears to have a Buddha carved on it. We frequently saw rocks like this around Kyoto, and wondered if they represent graves.

Last but not least, these photos are the inside and outsite of a shrine on the premises.

More photos to come - I still have ten rolls of film left!

A Kyoto Secret

Our first night in Kyoto, I noticed a small old-fashioned wooden gate with a tile roof in the alley between the two modern buildings across from our hotel. It was locked. This intrigued me. There was nothing marked on our map, and I wasn't about to create an international incident trying to see what was on the other side so I let it go.

But the next day, the gate was open. We weren't sure if it was a public place, but curiousity got the better of me (why would you put a fancy gate on an alley?!) . I made Peter guard the alley entrance while I tiptoed between the buildings. Before I even got to the end of the alley I could see a giant tree with a shrine at it's base.

(Clarification: The tree in the picture is NOT the giant tree.)

Ohhh how cute! A little shrine hidden between the buildings! I called for Peter to come with me. This is what we found at the end of the alley:

Huh. Perhaps I underestimated a bit.

It was a full blown Buddhist temple complex. There was a massive temple along with several administrative buildings, cloisters, and live monks!

(Cloisters - at least, I think that's what these were)

It was like a secret little part of Old Japan. The only sign with English was next to the first tiny shrine, and it told the life story of an artist named Gyokudo Urakami and his son Shunkin, who settled down and eventually died in Kyoto. Most of the sign spoke about artistic achievements that meant nothing to us as stupid Americans with no knowledge of Japanese history. However, Guyokudo's accomplishments seem to be summed up by the line "Along with his clan duties, Gyokudo played the koto (a Japanese harp), recited poems, practiced brush callingraphy, painted while under the influence of alcohol, living free from worldly cares as a man of literary significance." So this massive temple is in honor of a dead drunk artist?

Well no, actually, the signs neglected to mention the fact that a famous shogun who united most of central Japan committed suicide on this site after one of his generals betrayed him. Google provided that information later. That guy was named Nobunaga, and I believe that this is his grave (although nothing was labeled in English):

There were numerous other graves behind the temple, but this was the largest. There were also lots of wooden sticks with writing on them. I have no idea what they meant, but they were pretty, and if anyone knows what these mean I would appreciate enlightenment.

The temple held more surprises, unfortunately I do not have pictures because photography was not permitted. Unsure whether tourists were allowed in the main temple building, I snuck up the stairs to peek in the windows.

In retrospect, taking a picture of me sneaking up the stairs next to the red sign that I can't read probably wasn't wise. But when I looked in the windows, there were English signs telling tourists not to take photos. We decided that meant it was ok to go inside. The inside of the temple was almost solid gold!! There was a massive statue of Buddha in the center, with all kinds of treasure stacked around it. The altar was draped with heavily embroidered, expensive looking brocade. Three massive drums at the back of the room made me wish I could see a ceremony at the temple. It took my breath away.

We later found the temple on a map - it is called Honnoji. More photos tomorrow!!

A Quick Pet Update

This is my cat. As you can see, she is very dignified.


Yesterday she fell in the toilet. After that she was less dignified.

Photos of Kyoto!!

Last week Peter and I took a trip up to "mainland" Japan (yes, I'm aware that Japan is an island country) to see some of the sights. Over the next few days I'm going to be posting photos (as promised!) of some of the highlights of our trip. Peter and I took more than 500 photos in five days, but I promise I won't post all of them.

(A heron in the Kamo River)

It was a fantastic vacation where almost everything worked out exactly as planned and all the attractions either lived up to or exceeded our expectations. We spent three days in Kyoto and two in Osaka, with a daytrip West to Himeji Castle, one of the most spectacular castles I've ever seen.

A watch tower and the outer wall of Nijo Castle in Kyoto

Kyoto is one of the former imperial capitals of Japan, and one of the only cities in Japan whose original cultural buildings survived the bombings of World War II. Although most of the cities buildings are now modern, there are literally thousands of historic Buddhist Temples, Shinto Shrines, and traditional Japanese gardens hidden in the city, in addition to an Imperial Palace, a Shogun's Palace, and tons of traditional wooden buildings. Our first night there, we walked a couple blocks along the Kamo River and one of it's canals behind our hotel.

Kamo River Walk

On that short walk, we found a Buddhist Temple, a garden, and a Shrine, none of which were marked on the map. These "discoveries" were one of our favorite parts of Kyoto because they felt like our own private temples, with all the beauty of the tourist attractions and none of the people. It was like learning a secret.

This is one of the streets we walked along. It could be anywhere in the world.

This is the temple we found on that street.
And this is the shrine we found along an alley off that street.

This is a Japanese Maple in the garden we discovered. Fact of the Day: Japanese Maple leaves are red year round, not just in the fall.

More photos tomorrow!

Where Has Kristin Been?

I have been doing two things lately: Working and Sleeping. Sometimes I get to see my husband, but the moments when neither of us are working or sleeping are rare lately. I have three part time teaching jobs. They tend to be boom or bust, depending on the term. Apparently the past month has been a boom month for all three jobs so there hasn't been much time for blogging. Or writing, or crafting, or maintaining friendships. I learned today that one of my best friends is in Malaysia. Go figure. Once I get caught up on some sleep, I'll blog more. Next week we are going on vacation to Kyoto, so I'll definitely post pictures from our trip. In the meantime, here is a picture of some of our local "weeds."

This is a gladiola. It was growing on the side of the road.