Everyone up at 6:30 am. Aunts Kyoko and Michiko went to the communal bath on the top floor (men’s and women’s times alternate between the two baths).
We had breakfast (see sidebar) at 7:40 am in the dining room, which was sectioned off so that we had a private area overlooking the river.
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| Kent, Brynne, Tamiko, Yuriko and Michiko at breakfast |
Sidebar:
Breakfast was white rice, dried seaweed, mountain vegetables (tiny carrot, tiny daikon), local vegetables (spinach, a soft root veggie), pickled vegetables (including a tiny hard plum), soft boiled egg, green tea and water. At 9:00 am, we were picked up at the hotel by a driver with a private sightseeing mini-van taxi. He was at our disposal for the entire day!
The mini-van seated eight very comfortably, plus the driver. As seen in all neat and clean taxis in Japan, there were antimacassars, the lace covers for the headrest part of the seats.
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| Sightseeing mini-van (Yuriko, Brynne, Kyoko, Michiko, Tamiko) |
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| Antimacassars on seats |
And the sliding door was remote controlled (see sidebar).
Sidebar:
Regular taxis in Japan also have the remote-controlled rear passenger door. We have seen taxis pulling up to a person on the curb, and the door opening even before the taxi came to a complete stop.Sidebar:
The van was also equipped with a small camera on the rear, pointing backwards. This was wired to a small screen on the dash and enabled the driver to see behind the van when backing out of tight spots.
The driver headed north, and we mentioned wanting to see the Path of Philosophy. He wanted to know if we wanted to walk along it and how far. We did want to walk, but only about 1 kilometer. So the driver picked a spot to drop us off, and then picked us up.
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| Path of Philosophy |
The Path of Philosophy followed alongside a small canal lined with cherry and maple trees, and azalea bushes. It is called Tetsugaka-no-michi, or a place for a contemplative stroll. It was here that the famous scholar Ikutaro Nishida took his daily constitutional.
The canal once served to bring Kyoto’s water supply to the city.
Ginkaku-ji
We entered Ginkaku-ji, or the Temple of the Silver Pavilion, one of Kyoto’s most famous sites, through a path walled in by a tall hedge.
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| Tall trimmed hedge |
The pavilion was not silver, but it was intended to be.
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| Ginkaku-ji/Temple of the Silver Pavilion |
Shogun Yoshimasa Ashikaga (1435-90) had a villa built here for his retirement. It was started in the 1460s, and in 1474, Yoshimasa gave his full attention to the building when he became disillusioned with politics. He was particularly interested in the arts of romance, moon-gazing, and the tea ceremony, which he developed into high art.
Ginkaku was to be covered with silver foil. Upon Yoshimasa’s death, the pavilion was made into a temple, which was the custom in feudal times. With the decline of the Ashikaga family, the temple fell into disuse, and many buildings of the villa were destroyed.
However, the Ginkaku remains as one of two original buildings. It was a simple unadorned two-story building, with the exterior shape being appealing and tranquil. It had a combination of Chinese elements and the developing Japanese Muro-machi (1333-1568) or Shoin-style of architecture.
Ginkaku overlooked two gardens attributed to artist and architect Soami. The garden was in two sections, meant to contrast each other to establish balance.
One was a pond garden with a composition of rocks and plants designed to offer different perspectives from different viewpoints.
The other garden was a karesansui, or dry landscape for meditative contemplation.
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| Mount Fuji and Sea of Silver Sand |
On one side was a perfectly sculpted conical mound of sand with a flat top, which apparently represented Mount Fuji. On the other side was a sea of sand, with carefully sculpted waves. This was aptly named the Sea of Silver Sand, which sparkles in the moonlight.
The second original building was Togu-do, or the East Request Hall. It is thought that Yoshimasa himself lived in the front room. A back room called Dojinsai, or Room of Comradely Abstinence, is thought to be the prototype of a Souan-style tea room.
We continued to explore the grounds of Ginkaku-ji, climbing the hillside behind it to find a spring bubbling from a rocky area. Such springs were important for providing the purest water for tea ceremonies.
The sides of the hill under the forest canopy were mossy, with a mushroom growing here and there.
Railings along the stone pathways and stairs were made of bamboo, as was a fence.
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| Bamboo railing |
The stones for the steps and path were in their natural state, positioned only in sand.
The ponds contained koi, and there was a pool formed under a small waterfall, filled with coins.
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| Waterfall and pool filled with coins |
Ginkaku still functions as a Zen temple dedicated to Kannon, the goddess of mercy. A golden bronze Chinese phoenix facing east on the rooftop acted as guard.
High on the mountain above Ginkaku-ji, there was a dai (meaning life) symbol burned into the grass, visible for miles around.
Heian Jingu
Heian Jingu is historically a newer site, having been built in 1894 to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto. The shrine is dedicated to two emperors, Kammu (737-806) who founded the city in 794, and Komei (1831-1866) who was the last emperor to live out his reign in Kyoto.
The buildings of Heian Jingu, for the most part, were a 2/3rds replica of the original Imperial Palace. The original palace in Kyoto was rebuilt many times, and finally destroyed in 1227. With only scattered information available relating to the construction of the Imperial Palace, the Heian Jingu should be taken as a Meiji interpretation. Even so, the symmetry and dignity of the buildings conjure up the image of the magnificence the Imperial Court once had.
All the buildings looked newly painted vermilion, and were topped by green tile roofs with curlicue corners. The 2-story gate up only a few steps (!), led to a wide open courtyard.
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| Heian Jingu Main Gate |
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| Kent, Kyoko, Brynne, Michiko, Tamiko |
On the far side of the courtyard, in the center was the Daigoku-den, or Great Hall of State in which the Heian (see sidebar) emperors would issue decrees. On either side were the East Hon-den, and West Hon-den.
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| Bushes with paper prayers |
Sidebar:
Heian comes from Heian-Kyo, the original name of the city of Kyoto.
Heian Jingu Gardens
Aunt Kyoko gave Aunt Michiko money to pay the Y600 entry fee to the three stroll gardens behind Heian Jingu.
The Shin-en, or New Garden, was designed by Harubei Ogawa, following the Heian-era aesthetic of focusing on a large pond, a rare feature at a Shinto shrine.
The first garden appeared to be a teaching garden, with individual labeled plants. This area was shaded by weeping cherry trees whose branches were supported by arbors. At the far end stood an old Meiji-era streetcar, the oldest in Kyoto. Small flat stone bridges crossed a small stream filled with gray carp.
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| Bryne and Kent on small footbridge |
The next garden was laid out around the large pond. One end of the pond appeared to be filled with irises, in full bloom in whites and purples. They filled in behind an island with azaleas and a gnarly-branched tree with dark reddish bark.
The next area of the pond was filled with water lilies, and the large standing-leafed lotus.
We crossed a zigzag boardwalk bridge, and met a 2-inch snail on the fine gravel path.
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| Japanese land snail |
We crossed the lotus-filled pond again, this time on a stepping-stone bridge.
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| Stepping stone bridge |
The third part of the garden was a sandy path through a thickly wooded area. The path opened up to a wide part of the pond, with a teahouse on the other side. A covered bridge crossed the pond, and there were benches along the bridge. There were also glass covered boxes, full of thin stale loaves of bread. For a fee, we got a loaf to feed bits to the multi-colored koi. We thought to try to feed them from the shore, and the aunts clapped their hands to attract the fish.
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| Hungry carp |
But the best feeding was from the bridge. An older gentleman gave Brynne another loaf.
Nijo-jo
We had begun today’s tour in the northwest corner of Kyoto, and now had worked our way to central Kyoto. Our next stop was Nijo-jo.
Nijo-jo, or Nijo Castle, was originally built in 1603 to be the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. It was built as a symbol of the wealth, power and authority of the Tokugawa military government, especially in contrast to the refined restraint of the Kyoto aristocracy and the emperor.
We entered through Higashi-Ote-mon, the Eastern Main Gate, through the tall white plastered walls on stone foundations.
As a defensive measure, we had to turn left, then right through Kara-mon, or the Chinese Gate. This gate was highly decorated.
The Ninomaru, or Second Inner Palace, consisted of five buildings constructed almost entirely with hinoki, or Japanese cypress. Here we left our shoes in cubbyholes to tour the palace. The rooms were named after the paintings on the sliding doors, mostly of forest scenes, done by artists of the Kano-school.
The first two rooms, Yanagi-no-ma (Willow Room) and Wakamatsu-no-ma (Young Pine Room) were where inspectors verified the identities of visiting feudal lords.
Next was the Tozamurai-no-ma (Retainers Room) which was the waiting chamber for visitors. The leopards and tigers painted on the walls were modeled after imported hides, since they did not exist in Japan.
In the Shikidai-no-ma (Reception Room), the shogun’s ministers would receive the visiting lords. The ancient pine trees painted here were done by the great artist Tanyu Kano (1602-1674) when he was only 25 years old.
Ohiroma San-n-ma, the Third Great Chamber, was a waiting area for visiting daimyo, or feudal lords who ruled the provinces of Japan.
The corridors we followed to reach these rooms were uguisu-bari, the nightingale floors (see sidebar), that "sang” when tread upon.
Sidebar:
Uguisu-bari, or nightingale floors, are especially designed to squeak whenever anyone treads upon them. There are metal clamps nailed to the floor planks, which move up and down as the board is stepped on, rubbing against the nails and creating the squeak. Because the sound is bird-like, it was given the name nightingale. These floors were used to warn residents of intruders.
The Ohi-roma Ichi-no-ma and Ni-no-ma (First and Second Grand Chambers) were the most important official audience chambers. The bold forms of the pines and the lavish use of gold and lacquer were meant to impress. Sliding doors with large red tassels concealed the bodyguards’ rooms. It was in these chambers that the fifteenth Tokugawa shogun announced restoration of sovereignty to the Emperor, ending over 250 years of Tokugawa rule.
The Kiro-shoin (Inner Audience Chamber) was where the shogun granted private audiences. The ceilings and sliding doors here were painted by Naonobu Kano (1607-1650), the younger brother of Tanyu.
Shiro-shoin, the shogun’s living quarters, had paintings by Koi Kano (d. 1636). The quiet mood of the mountain and water scenes created a relaxing atmosphere for the shogun’s daily life. Only female attendants were allowed to enter this room!
Ohiroma Yon-no-ma (the Fourth Great Chamber) housed the shogun’s spears, swords, and other weapons. The screen paintings of magnificent pine trees and hawks by Tanyu Kano are appropriate symbols of military prowess. One of the pine branches was 11 meters long.
Rochu-no-ma (the Ministers’ Offices) had excellent wall paintings of birds in natural settings. But the upper walls and ceiling were plain, reflecting the frugality of decoration in the non-public areas of the palace.
Finally, the Chokushi-no-ma (Imperial Messenger’s Room) was lavishly decorated with paintings of maples, so that the messenger would report back to the Emperor, the signs of wealth he had seen.
Ninomaru Garden
After putting on our shoes again, we headed out to the gardens behind the palace. The stunning garden was designed by the renowned tea master and landscape architect Kobori Enshu (1579-1647). It was built shortly before the visit of Emperor Gomizuno-o in 1626.
In keeping with traditional Japanese garden design, it was conceived around a large central pond. In the pond were three islands. Tsuru-jima (Crane Island) and Kame-jima (Turtle Island) (see sidebar) flank Horai-jima (Island of Eternal Happiness or Island of Paradise).
Sidebar:
The crane and turtle are symbols of strength and longevity.
On the far side were vertically placed rocks to symbolize a waterfall between heaven and earth.
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| Waterfall between heaven and earth |
The garden was originally designed with no deciduous trees, because the shogun did not want to be reminded of the transitory nature of life by falling leaves.
Beyond the garden, we crossed an inner moat to the Hon-maru, the location of the original palace to house the shogun and his retainers in 1626. It was struck by lightning and burned in 1750. In 1893, a palace originally built in 1847 as the residence for Prince Katsura, was moved to this location. It serves as an example of courtly architecture in contrast to the shogun’s palace.
Lunch at "Denny's"
Actually we had lunch at Joy/Now, a family restaurant chain in Japan. Japan does also have the real Denny’s! We perused the huge illustrated menus, and Brynne chose a ton-katsu bento box, with a breaded pork cutlet, miso soup, salad, and green tea. Kent and Tamiko had the ton-katsu curry, the breaded pork cutlet in curry sauce with rice. A bit disappointing because the pork was fatty.
In restaurants, you always take your bill to the cashier to pay, and there is never any tipping. Of course, Aunt Kyoko took care of the bill!
Kinkaku-ji
Our driver picked us up from the restaurant, and we headed to western Kyoto.
Kinkaku-ji, or Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is one of the most impressive temples we had seen.
The former retirement villa of the third Ashikaga shogun Yoshimitsu (1358-1409) was built in 1393. Yoshimitsu retired the next year to manage affairs through the new shogun, his ten-year old son. He was able to indulge in a peaceful life in this serene setting.
Upon Yoshimitsu’s death, the villa was converted to a Zen temple. Kinkaku was originally the moon-gazing pavilion, but became Rokuon-ji.
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| Kinkaku-ji entrance gate |
Our first view of the glowing golden pavilion was across a pond, with a shimmering reflection.
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| Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji |
Our driver came along this time to act as guide. He related the story of the fanatic student monk who burned Kinkaku to the ground in 1950. It was rebuilt in 1955 based on the original design, except now the top two stories were covered in gold-leaf, completing the shogun’s original intention. Yoshimitsu was not able to cover the pavilion entirely in gold because at the time of his retirement, the country was in turmoil, and Kyoto suffered famines and plagues. He did have the ceiling of the third floor covered in gold leaf to reflect in the pond.
Kinkaku was a 3-story pavilion built on stilts to extend over the pond, so that together with its reflection, it would suggest an existence between heaven and earth.
Each floor was done in a different style of architecture. The first floor was Shinden-zukuri, the palace style. The second floor was Buke-zukuri, the style of a samurai house. The third was Karayo-style, or Zen temple style.
The roof was thatched with shingles, and a pure gold Chinese phoenix sat at the very top of the pavilion.
So, although the pavilion was of aesthetic interest, because it was a new reconstruction, it is not revered as much as the simpler Silver Pavilion, which is an original structure.
Attached to Kinkaku was a tiny boathouse, with a boat to float out on the pond during moonlit nights.
A hall on the grounds was designed so that it appeared to sit on a sandy beach next to an ocean of grass.
Climbing a hill behind Kinkaku, we saw a waterfall with a tall thin rock under the falling water. This rock represented a carp swimming upstream.
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| Carp Swimming Upstream |
Apparently students come here to pray, since they too are swimming upstream.
Another pond had a small island with a small stone pagoda, in memory of a white snake believed to have lived here.
On top of the hill was a classic tea house, situated to have a view of the golden phoenix atop Kinkaku when the setting sun was reflected from it. Next to the tea house was an old carved stone which served as the spot for ritual hand cleansing.
Kinkaku-ji was surrounded by a tile-topped wall, which was unusual in that it was painted yellow with narrow horizontal white stripes.
On the grounds, there was a tree-pruning crew, about eight men working on one tree using bamboo-pole scaffolding.
The tickets to Kinkaku-ji, and also to Ginkaku-ji, were printed on reproductions of the stamp offered for sale as a memento of the temple. You could also pay a monk, or temple calligrapher (?), to print one in your own book. Aunt Kyoko had a small leather-bound book filled with these stamps, most on the pages, but some loose for when she had visited someplace without her book. At every temple, she paid Y300 for a hand-made stamp with the date added.
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| Calligrapher stamping Kyoko's book |
Ryoan-ji
Our guide accompanied us through Ryoan-ji as well.
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| Brynne lighting ncense at Ryoan-ji |
This Rinzai sect Buddhist temple is known for its karesansui, or dry garden. This simple garden is to inspire philosophical meditation, and is one of Japan’s cultural masterpieces.
The rectangular rock garden measured 30 by 10 meters, surrounded on three sides by walls made of clay boiled in oil. Over time, oil has seeped out to create unique designs.
The fourth side was the veranda of the temple, where one would ponder the arrangement of 15 rocks positioned in the raked gravel, in three groups. The groups contained three, five, and seven (see sidebar) rocks respectively, but they were so arranged that you could see only 14 rocks at any one time.
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| Ryoan-ji Zen garden |
Sidebar:
The numbers three, five, and seven are auspicious or lucky numbers.
In Buddhism, the number 15 denotes completeness, and the garden suggests that in today’s world, it is not possible to have a total view to make it whole and meaningful. The stones may represent anything: islands, clouds, celestial constellations, or even a mother tiger and cubs.
The garden is said to have been laid out by the artist and landscape architect Soami (d. 1525).
The temple buildings here had white plaster walls with wooden beams, looking almost Tudor in style.
Behind the tea house was a unique stone wash basin, said to have been contributed by Mitsukuni Tokugawa (1628-1700), a feudal lord and compiler of a great book on the history of Japan. The basin is inscribed, “I learn only to be contented.” This concept is important in Zen philosophy, that the one who learns to be content is spiritually rich, while one who learns for other reasons is spiritually poor, although he may be materially rich.
We left Ryoan-ji by walking past a large lotus pond.
Myoshin-ji
We went to Myoshin-ji to see the famous ceiling painting known as the Dragon Glaring in Eight Directions. But the buildings were all closed.
Myoshin is also site of the oldest bell in Japan. It was cast in 698. We saw at least three bells in this temple complex, so we hope we saw the oldest!
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| Myoshin-ji Belfry |
Tenryu-ji
We were driven farther west to Tenryu-ji, known as the Temple of the Heavenly Dragon.
Emperor Go-daigo, who brought an end to the Kamakura shogunate, was unable to hold onto his power, and was forced from his throne by Takauji Ashikaga. When Go-daigo died, Takuji had a twinge of conscience when the Priest Muso Soseki (1275-1351) told him of a dream in which a golden dragon rose from the river. The dream was interpreted to mean the spirit of Go-daigo was not at rest, and this was a bad omen. So Takauji built this temple in 1339 on the spot of Go-daigo’s favorite villa.
In the Hatto, or Lecture Hall, where today’s monks come to meditate, we were able to glimpse the huge cloud dragon painted on the ceiling. The original was ravaged by fire. This painting was done by the 20th century artist Shonen Suzuki.
The temple garden, Sogen-chi, dates to the 14th century, and was famed for the arrangement of vertical stones in the large pond. The stones are said to symbolize a heron and a turtle.
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| Great Blue Heron on Heron Rock |
A great blue heron stood upon the appropriate stone as we came by.
The pond is said to be in the shape of the Chinese character for “heart.”
There was a piled jumble of stones which was said to resemble a tiger.
A moss-covered mound was a memorial to Emperor Go-daigo.
We climbed up on a foundation of a don-jon, or tower, at a corner of a moat to survey the temple grounds below.
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| View from Tenryu-ji |
Bamboo Forest
We asked to see the bamboo forest, and our driver drove us right in, on a lane no wider than the mini-van itself. After driving up a winding road, we were let out to stand in the middle of the thick grove of very tall bamboo.
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| Brynne in bamboo grove |
The dense forest was dark and cool, a vision of calm and tranquility. Then there were shouts as we were encouraged to run up the path to see something. A bear? A snake?
It was a mountain excursion train ready to take off through a tunnel below us.
On our way back to the inn, we made one more stop at Daitaku-ji, a Rinzai sect temple of Zen Buddhism. It appeared to be closed, but we were able to see a boat with a covered dance platform.
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| Dance performance boat at Daikatu-ji |
Apparently there are nightly performances that you can view from the edges of the lake, or from special boats on the lake.
Ryokan Tazeru Day 2
We returned to the ryokan, and were escorted to our room and served green tea and cinnamon cookies shaped like half a pipe lengthwise. They were very hard, but good.
After baths, we had dinner outside on the inn’s veranda overlooking the river. Here we shared space with other diners. Our kimono-clad hostesses kneeled and served us another memorable dinner.
Electric fans were attached to the balcony above the veranda, to maintain a cool breeze. But they were not needed tonight. It was cool enough that the hostesses brought cotton jackets for us to wear. Lighted paper lanterns were strung around the veranda, and provided the only light.
Near us was a party of ten businessmen. It seemed that three young girls were hired simply to serve beer. They wore western dress, not kimonos like the inn staff.
We took the elevator to our room, and the door opened at the third floor. Standing there was our usual hostess, but she waved us on our way. She seemed to be everywhere, serving our snack on the 6th floor, serving us dinner on the 1st floor, while she was probably attending to another customer on the 3rd floor!
Tonight we went souvenir shopping, out on the streets in our yukatas and slippers!
Second Ryokan Dinner
Salad plate: Whole okra, tiny crawfish or shrimp, bits of marinated salmon.
Sashimi plate: Tuna, octopus, some type of fish (!), wasabi.
Entrée: Grilled salmon with a sweet sauce. Soy beans in the pod.
Fish stew including a soft-shell crab, meant to be eaten whole.
Tempura: Shrimp, mushroom, pepper, chopped daikon to mix in dipping sauce.
White rice, clear soup with fish balls, pickled vegetables.
Dessert: Grapefruit jello in a real grapefruit rind half.
Kent: Large Asahi beer.
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