Temples and Shrines and Gardens #1 - the Locals

These are the first places we visited as they are within a kilometre of our guesthouse. the closest is the finest, and sits just at the end of our street. Kitano Tenmangu is shrine dedicated to the god of thunder, Sugawara after many severe storms hit Kyoto. It must have worked because you could not imagine a more peaceful place, and late afternoon was the perfect time to stroll through it.

Daitoku-ji is actually many separate temples all along a road, each with its own gates and charms. Its like its own world of zen.

wandering around the temples at Daitoku-ji

ladies after a tea ceremony

Most of these were closed (it is a hub of learning and practice and often closed to the public), but we did get in to see two, Kourin-in and Zuihou-in.

Kourin-in

Zuimou-in

Just to the west of this compound is a large garden, surrounded by a bamboo forest. These trees are about 8 inches in diameter and their canopy is like a plume of green that rustles as it moves in the breeze. The inner part of the garden, Koto-in, that which we most wanted to see, was closed due to seismic upgrading. I was bemused to think that gardens need to be seismically upgraded, but obviously I know too little about Japanese earthquakes.

At Kourin-in we encountered a bit of a contest. There was a rock on a cushion that one lifted, then returned to its cushion. After making a wish, one lifts the rock again and if it seems lighter, your wish will come true. It is one mighty heavy rock I can tell you and despite the psychological element of the "contest", it did not feel one bit lighter the second time round. Good thing I wished for a pony and not for something like a long, healthy life!