The last temple I saw on my second day in Kyoto was Rokuonji Temple. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The place was established from 1185 to 1332 as an aristocrat's country estate and taken in possession in 1387 by a shogun who turned it into a n elegant villa called Kitayama Palace. In 1422 it was converted to a Buddhist temple by the shogun's son. The first abbot was Muso Soseki. The Golden Pavilion and temple gardens where restored during the Edo period (1615-1867.)
Map of the area.
Did I count as a group or as an individual?
The temple garden incorporated Mt. Kinugasayama as background scenery. Rocks where installed in the existing pond. The Kinkaku or "Golden Pavilion" was constructed overlooking the pond. It has shingled roofs, with the second and third floors entirely gilded with gold leaf. Each of the pavilion's three stories represents a different architectural style. The first floor is of the palace style, the second floor of the samurai-house style and the third floor of the Zen-temple style. The pavilion was destroyed by arson in 1950 by a person who entered the Buddhist priesthood enchanted by its perfection. An exact reproduction was completed in 1955.
Observations: My feet where tired by the afternoon and I was glad to have figured out how to use the bus system to get around Kyoto. After having seen so many beautiful, intimate temples with so few people around, it was disappointing to be with crowds seeing the Rokuonji Temple. It felt like going to see the Eiffel Tower- everyone had to go and get their picture taken with it in the background. There where throngs of students, busloads of tourists. In one corner, a Latin American lady was holding court around her relatives, keeping them enthralled with stories about the business acumen of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. How that topic related to this place was beyond me, but the strangeness impressed me enough to remember it. What was the connection? Gold? There were school children throwing coins at a Buddha statue on the floor in the hope of having good luck.
5 comments:
Srewth Arturo, where DIDN'T you go in Kyoto? Can't believe you managed to cram so many into so few days. It's still hot too no? must have been exhausting. Glad you made it to tetsugaku no michi (philosopher's path) one of my favourite places to walk. Called that because Nishida Kitaro used to walk along it everyday. he founded the Kyoto school of Philosophy, kind of existentialist Zen. Look out for his Last writings, Nothingness and the Religious world view (only around 150 pages) if you haven't come across it already.
Dear Grimmly
Hmm, I bet this book would be in the library at Zen Center in SF, where I used to practice Zen. My first degree was in philosophy.
The temperature was very pleasant, actually a bit chilly, when I went to Kyoto. Fall weather was coming. I still have another day and a half of temple and castle visits to document. I did not visit the temples that are directl southwest of Rokuonji Temple. That could be for another time :)
cheers,
Arturo
Arturo, I guess this is the temple you were talking about, the Japanese just know how to do them, they are so beautiful! I feel peace just by looking at them.
thanks for the comment about maybe twitter being the reason why you cannot post comments by the way, I will be exploring if maybe that is the reason why!
Enjoy
Dear Claudia
I'm glad the picture has a calming effect. Actually, the other temples with beautiful gardens have more of the effect of calming the mind when one visits them in person. This one is very beautiful, but you visit it with huge throngs of people, so, in person it is not a peaceful experience. I have some pictures of quiet temples in the forest to post next.
I think that when one loads up your page, since it is trying to load up twitter and update it, it slows down those of us who have slower internet connections. My internet invariably locks up when I visit your site. This probably does not happen in most of the world where your readers are if they have faster connections.
hugs
Arturo
Oh, i look forward to the temples in the forests, sounds amazing...
Hmmm, yes that might explain why it is happening... thanks for telling me
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