Tenryuji Sogenchi Garden in Autumn

 

Though I usually try to post about less familiar sights in Japan, sometimes I go to the very popular places, especia;y when I have overseas visitors who want to see cliche Japan.

Sp here are some photos from one of the most photographed sites in Japan, the garden at Tenryuji Temple in Arashiyama, Kyoto.

If you like your zen moment to be shared with thousands of like-minded people, then Kyoto is the place to go;;;;

Tenryiji Temple is one of the World heritage sites in Kyoto.

The Sogenchi Garden is apparenty little changed from when it was created in the mid 14th cetury by Muso Soseki, the monk who founded the temple.

There are numerous gardens within the temples grounds, but the Sogenchi garden is the biggest and most well known.

Based around a large pond, the garden uses the "borrowed scenery" of the mountains behind.

The Gardens at Kennin-Ji Temple

The Gardens at Kennin-Ji Temple

Kennin-ji in Gion was the first Zen temple established in Kyoto in 1202. My wife grew up in a house literally next door to the temple so I visited it often. The Chouontei garden is quite well known and features the classic triad of central stones.

Another famous garden in the temple is the Circle-Triangle-Square garden, but I don't show any photos of it in this post.

Seeing is not a passive act. Though we can grasp a scene in a single glimpse, mostly we "read" a scene or a garden. Our eyes move around from point to point and are drawn to specific points and aspects. An artist, or a garden designer, will instinctively know this as part of the process.

I take photos of things my eyes are drawn to. A simple enough thing to say, but less easy to explain.

"God is in the details" is a well-known quote with multiple possible meanings, but if God is truth, and truth is beauty, both two statements that are arguable but which I tend to agree with, then my eyes are drawn to beauty and this is what I attempt to capture with my camera.

Raked Gravel and Rock

Raked Gravel and Rock

Considered quintessentially Japanese, gardens with raked gravel and rock are ubiquitous in Japan. Generally called "karesansui" they are often known in English as "Dry Gardens". Heavily associated with Zen, they are found not just in Zen temples but almost anywhere, secular or sacred.

The first photo is from Kanyoji Temple in the mountains of Yamaguchi Prefecture. I believe it was designed by Mirei Shigemori, one of the great garden designers of the 20th Century. The second photo is from the Yuushien Gardens on Daikon Island in the Nakaumi Lagoon between Shimane and Tottori. An excellent garden well worth a visit.

This third one is within the entrance area to a hot spring resort in the Okuizumo area of Shimane.

There is no shortage of karesansui gardens in Kyoto, but this 4th photo shows one of the lesser known ones. It is in front of the main hall of Shogo-in, a monzeki temple, which means it was home to a member of the imperial family.

This last one is also not such a well known garden, bgut also one that is well worth a visit. It is in the grounds of the ruins of Tokushima Castle and was part of the palace there.

Left-handed Fudo Myo

Left-handed Fudo Myo

Fudo MyoO, one of my favorite deities, is usually portrayed holding a rope in his left hand and a sword, named Kurikara, in his right. The sword is for subduing demons and cutting through ignorance.

On a recent visit to Shogoin Temple in Kyoto as part of my Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage, I saw this painting of Fudo where the sword is in his left hand. I have been unable to find out anything about this painting, but I am guessing it is fairly modern. I have no idea if there is any significance to this left-handedness.......

EDIT... thanks to a reader in the Netherlands I was able to find out the painting was only given to the temple 2 months ago and is by Yuki Adachi from Okayama. It is done in Yuzen style which is a kind of dye resist painting used for kimonos and obis.....

Buy Jinbei and Samue from Japan

2019 Fall Colors Walk Day 1 Kyoto

2019 Fall Colors Walk Day 1 Kyoto

I missed my traditional autum colors walk last year because of a bout of pneumonia, and this year in my eagerness I started a little early in mid November. Crossing the Katsura River early morning in Arashiyama, western Kyoto, the hillside had started to turn......

At Osawa no Ike Pond next to Daikakuji Temple the clouds started to clear away to reveal some color...

On my first ever visit to Ninna-ji Temple there was not much color to be seen yet except in the eastern part of the temple grounds where there are a couple of shrines.

On my first ever visit to Jisson-in Temple in the northern suburb of Iwakura, the gardens were nice enough, but yet again the colors had only just begun....

I took the Eizan Line train to Kurama, and the famed Maple Tunnel where the train slows down for a couple of hundred meters so passengers can enjoy the colors, yet again it was just beginning....

Kyoto Umbrellas

Not much I can say about this post other than the title......

The first was one of the large umbrella often found at shrine or temples. The second was in the famous bamboo forest of Arashiyama.......

The other three were at shops...... the last one in Gion at night.........

Happy New Year of the Dragon

This is a detail from Twin Dragons on the ceiling in Kennin-Ji in Kyoto. It was painted in 2002 to commemorate the 800 year anniversary of the temples founding. The artist is Koizumi Junsaku and the painting measures 11.4 by 15.7 meters.

I wish all of you a great new year. In a few days I will be back home and can start posting more regularly again.

Genbu Shrine

Genbu Shrine is located north of the Imperial palace in Kyoto and was one of the 4 shrines for protection of the palace. It was built in the ninth century and originally enshrined a favorite sword of Prince Koretaka, a son of Emperor Montoku.

The name Genbu refers to the guardian animal of this direction, commonly represented as a turtle entwined by a snake.

The shrine is host on the second sunday of April to the Yasuraibana Matsuri based on hanashizume festivals which were held to ward of plagues.

There are two secondary shrines in the grounds, one to Inari and one to Miwa Myojin which is another name for the Miwa deity Okuninushi.

Kenkun Shrine

Kenkun Shrine, also known as Takeisao Shrine, is located on a small hill, Funaoka Yama, in the northeast of Kyoto.

With its roofs of cedar bark shingles, the shrine looks to be old, but in fact was not founded until 1880. It enshrines the great warlord Oda Nobunaga.

The shrine is very much a part of State Shinto, the emperor-centric religion created in the Meiji era. Many of the old Japanese heroes who were considered to have been imperial loyalists were enshrined at this time, as well as Nobunaga, Toyotomi was also enshrined in Kyoto at Toyokuni Shrine.

This is an Onusa, a purification wand used in all ceremonies.

There were several smaller shrines on the hillside, including this Inari Shrine.

Izumoji Sainokami Shrine

The shrine is tucked away a little to the west of Shimogamo Shrine, though it was originally located on the bank of the Kamo River nearby.

The name refers to the old "road" to Izumo, and sainokami is a later name of dosojin, the phallic stones at roadsides and crossroads that were the site of spirit-pacification rites. Plagues travelled along the roads and were experienced as demons, so these sites were to protect from such demons.

The dosojin became associated with Sarutahiko, and he is the main kami enshrined here. Also enshrined is Uzume, his wife, Ninigi, who Sarutahiko guided down to earth, Okuninushi and Kotoshironushi, the Izumo kami, and several others.

Sarutahiko took on the visage of a monkey, hence the image on the numerous ema.

It is said that in olden days women who wanted a divorce would come here to pray.

Shimogamo Shrine

Shimogamo Shrine is a major shrine complex in Kyoto and a UNESCO World heritage site.

The proper name is Kamomioya Shrine, and Shimogamo means Lower Shrine as opposed to Kamigamo, Upper Shrine, another major shrine complex not far away.

Shimogamo is located where the kamo River and the Takano River meet and the shrine was founded probably in the sixth century, many centuries before Kyoto (Heiankyo) was founded.

It was founded by the Kamo family when they moved here from the Nara Basin to control the immigrant clans who had settled this area. Some believe the Kamo were themselves of Korean origin and they certainly have close links with the Hata clan who were certainly of non-Japanese origins.

The Kamo, and the Hata, both also have strong connections with Izumo. In Katsuragi, where the Kamo moved here from, is enshrined one of Okuninushi' sons, and this is generally interpreted to mean that the area was settled by people from Izumo, and it has been suggested that the Hata spent time in Izumo before moving to the Yamato area.

The shrine is located within all that remains of the Tadatsuno mori, and ancient forest, and many of the older trees have shimenawa around them. There are numerous sub-shrines within the grounds.

When Kyoto was founded the Kamo shrines were chosen to protect the palace from the NE, which is where evil was believed to come. With Imperial patronage the shrine grew to its current impressive size.

The shrine contains many examples of Edo Period architecture, including this bridge, the Taikobashi.

Shimogamo is also one of the sites of the famous Aoi matsuri.

The main kami enshrined here are Kamotaketsunumi and Tamayorihime Kamotaketsunumi is considered the founder of the Kamo clan. He is equated with Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow that guided the mythical first Emperor Jimmu to Yamato. One genealogy, in the Kogoshui I believe, has him being a descendant of Okuninushi, once again strengthening the connection to Izumo.

Tamayorihime was one of his daughters who "lay" with the Thunder God Honoikazuchi and gave birth to Wakeikazuchi who is enshrined at Kamigamo Shrine.