Kinkaku – the Golden Pavilion
Upon telling friends that I was heading to Kyoto, I received a lot of suggestions about which gardens warranted a visit. “Kinkaku-ji,” “The Gold Temple,” or “The Golden Pavilion” came up a lot. Common sentiment: “Yeah, a lot of people go there and it’s really busy, but it’s worth it.” Having now visited, I wholeheartedly agree. The place is stunning.
Kinkaku is properly known as Rokuon-ji Temple, but it is better known by the phrase that refers to the famous gold building set alongside a reflective pond. It was built as a villa for Kintsune Sainoji in the 1220′s, and like so many old villas in Kyoto, it was converted to a temple long ago. Kinkaku received a facelift in 1987 and remains bright and shiny to this day.
Simply walking along the path to the garden, I knew I was in for a treat. Massive trees and splendid Japanese maples in fall color lined the way to the ubiquitous kiosk where I paid a few hundred yen to enter.
Large tree with great roots
Old and moss-covered trunk
The biggest of the bunch right outside the garden’s entrance
Japanese maples
Maples and moss – a great combination
Once inside, a brief walk through a courtyard and passage through a Chinese style gate reveals the Kinkaku.
Kinkaku – the Golden Pavilion
I couldn’t have asked for better weather. The air was still, allowing the Kyoko-chi pond to provide a great reflection of the bright gold building on its shore.
Kinkaku is formally known as “Shariden.” The first floor is built in palace style (Shinden-zukuri), and is named Ho-sui-in (The Chamber of Dharma Waters). The second floor is built in the style of a samurai house (Buke-zukuri) and is named Cho-on-do (The Tower of Sound Waves). The third floor is built in the Karayo or Zen Temple style and is called Kukkyo-cho. A bronze phoenix adorns the roof. The second and third floors are coated in Japanese lacquer and covered with a thick layer of gold leaf. (Notes courtesy Rokuon-ji Temple brochure and Wikipedia.)
The grounds are equally beautiful. A path leads visitors around the pond, alongside the Golden Pavilion, and up a small rise before leading back toward the entrance.
Path along Kyoko-chi Pond’s southern shore
Kyoko-chi Pond
Ashihara Island
Small pine island
A beautiful setting for a not-so-subtle building
Like so many tourist destinations in Japan at the height of the fall color season, I was not alone.
One guess what they were looking at.
Behind the temple, an old pine with a great first branch peeked out between two buildings.
Check out that first branch!
Super pines like these covered the shoreline and most islands in Kyoko-chi Pond
Enjoying the fall color
An isthmus along Kyoko-chi Pond
Behind the temple buildings, garden workers were busy sweeping leaves from a surprisingly steep hillside.
Sweeping leaves
Roots holding the hillside together
After leading visitors past the Pavilion, the path revealed shrines, statues, the spring that feeds the pond, and a small waterfall.
Ryumon taki waterfall
Stone figures and offerings
Japanese maple
Dry creek
Maples and moss again
A second pond, An-min-taku, surrounded a small island with a stone pagoda called Hakuja-no-tsuka (the mound in memory of the white snake).
Hakuja-no-tsuka
The roof of the recently renovated tea house, Sekka-tei, was already covered with light green moss and lichens that provided a nice complement to the orange maple foliage.
Sekka-tei Tea House
Even the walk away from the temple provided great views. At one point I looked over my shoulder to see Kinkaku rising above pines and red maples.
Kinkaku, matsu, momiji
Tomorrow: Notes from the Daitokuji Temple complex.
Ryoan-ji gardens
Kyoto’s Ryoan-ji is best known for its stone garden – a rectangular plot roughly 25 meters by 10 meters featuring several clusters of stones set in a sea of white sand. There is a total of 15 stones, but only 14 are visible from any given vantage point. The stone garden was built near the end of the 15th century. Today, it is one of the most famous zen gardens in the world and has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Just beyond the walled stone garden lies a wonderful, if under-appreciated, garden featuring meandering paths and a large pond. To get a feel for how the garden is arranged, check out the virtual tours at Kyoto Gardens.org. Thanks to Tom for the tip!
The simple yet beguiling design of the garden makes it a wonderful place for quiet reflection.
My first view of the garden – wow!
Or simply reflection. The crowd, while polite, offers quite a buzzing contrast to the spare garden.
Enjoying solitude together
The stones themselves are great. Some sit just above the surface of the sand, others are propped up on small mounds surrounded by aprons of moss.
The largest stone and its mate
Most of the sand has been raked along parallel lines save for the ripples around each stone island.
Ripples around stone island
Islands in the far corner
Contemplating stones and/or texting friends
The karesansui (dry garden)
Mossy, maple-covered gardens flanked the sides of the building from which we appreciated the dry garden.
Red leaves on green moss
The lush garden behind the temple
Ryoan-ji’s stone washbasin boasts a unique design. It’s lower than many similar basins, and features four Japanese characters or kanji. These are meaningless when read alone, but when combined with the character formed by the basin’s square opening, “kuchi,” (mouth) they become “I,” “only,” “plenty,” “know.” From the temple brochure:
Tsukubai, the stone-wash basin for the tea room, has a unique inscription, ‘I learn only to be contented.’ He who learns only to be contented is spiritually rich, while the one who does not learn to be contented is spiritually poor even if he is materially wealthy.
Wikipedia’s interpretation: “what one has is all one needs.”
Ryoan-ji’s Tsukubai
Tourists and maples
Leaving the zen garden is a peaceful experience. The garden is large, and save for the path between the entrance and the dry garden, it is mostly unoccupied.
The outside of the garden wall
Accents in the moss
Large moss-covered stone
Beautiful moss
Several kinds of moss growing together
Little side-paths meandered through curious spaces planted with different species at each bend in the road.
Large pieris
Neatly trimmed azaleas
Pom-pom tsugi forest
Japanese maples were generally a sign that one was approaching the lake. Another abandoned path led to an islet in the middle of the pond.
Stone path to islet
Main path to garden – “Kirei-ne?” (Beautiful, yes?)
Nandina berries reveal the season
Huge wisteria overhanging the pond
Venerated tsugi trunk wrapped in protective bark
Posts supporting the tsugi on Bentenjima, the islet in the middle of Kyoyochi pond
“Ee koyo” (Good fall color)
The pond dates from the 12th century. It originally attracted mandarin ducks, earning it the nickname “Oshidoridera” (the temple of mandarin ducks). I saw a heron on Bentenjima, but no ducks.
Kyoyochi pond
Japanese maple
Tsugi forest behind the temple complex
Kyoyochi pond
Persimmon next to pond
Next stop: Kinkaku-ji
Ninna-ji Temple
Let’s go to Kyoto! I thought I’d start out the new year with a recap of my visit to some of Kyoto’s fantastic gardens. My first stop was Ninna-ji Temple. Ninna-ji dates to the 9th century making it one of the older temples in a city full of old temples. Around a dozen buildings from different epochs surrounded by a variety of gardens make Ninna-ji a great introduction to Kyoto’s temples. The Ninna-ji website offers a brief history and an English-language blog features great photos and more detailed histories.
After exiting the Kyoto City Bus, I found myself standing directly across from the Nio-mon Gate. The gate takes its name from the Kongo-rishiki – muscular guardians – at its base.
Nio-mon Gate
Agyo Nio – the guardian on the right
Looking up at the gate from underneath
The Goten Palace and gardens sit just inside the gate. It is the most impressive and well-manicured area of the temple.
Black pine with very long, low branches
Japanese maple and pines behind raked sand
Many temples featured seasonal flower arrangements at their entrance. These flowers greeted guests entering the Goten Palace.
Flower arrangement
Goten garden
Moss and pine between buildings
Shady garden
Walking through the Goten
The Goten’s North Garden
Pond, maple and pines
The Five-storied Pagoda behind the Goten’s North Garden
I was really excited to see such great Fall color. In Northern California, Japanese maples typically turn brown before dropping their leaves. The vivid oranges and reds were quite a treat!
More maples and pines
Chokushi-mon Gate
A close-up of the thatch roof at the Goten
Shinden
Lantern
Roof decoration
Five-storied Pagoda
Japanese maples
Five-storied Pagoda
Some older, more delicate, or important buildings were completely off-limits to visitors. Most buildings, however, were far more welcoming.
Hide and seek
Kon-do
Bell Tower
Decorations outside the Mie-do
Mie-do
Kannon-do
Kannon-do foundation
Five-storied Pagoda beyond the Omuro-zakura orchard – dwarf cherry trees
Buddha
Nio-mon gate from inside the temple
Next up: the Ryoan-ji Temple.
Taikan-ten setup and judging
The 2011 Grandview Bonsai Exhibit, or Taikan-ten as it is generally known, was recently held at the Miyako-messe in Kyoto, Japan. The exhibit opened on Friday, November 25th, which means a lot of bonsai professionals – and amateurs – were busy on the 24th setting everything up. As fast as folks could set up their displays, others were taking theirs apart to facilitate judging. Around midday, the aisles were full of tables with trees under consideration for awards.
Conifers awaiting judging
Large deciduous trees
The first round of judging is done by a group of bonsai professionals who narrow trees in each category down to the best three.
Professionals turning in their ballots for the suiseki category
Trees that don’t make the cut are returned to their displays. The remainder were shuffled for a second round of judging.
Large deciduous trees – final cut
Satsuki
Smaller satsuki
The tags were removed from trees that made it to the second round.
Medium shishigashira – ready for the second round
Some of the judging categories were new to me.
The bonsai-on-a-slab-or-stone category?
The bunjingi category?
Once the trees had been selected for the second round, things in the hall slowed down a bit.
Owen Reich and Peter Tea comparing tales of apprenticeship
Others used to time to check out the displays.
Bright red pyracantha berries – oh boy
The second round of judging took a long time to complete. Here the judges contemplate outstanding suiseki.
Evaluating stones
Winning entries received awards – slender, gold cards. Once all of the awards were distributed, the trees returned to their displays.
A winner!
Some displays got more attention than others. Below, a number of professionals watch the setup of a special display for the late Daizo Iwasaki. Iwasaki was one of the best-known bonsai collectors in Japan.
Many volunteer to help arrange the late Mr. Iwasaki’s bonsai and suiseki
Daizo Iwasaki
Mr. Iwasaki’s shimpaku
The vendor area was the last part of the room to come together. It included large trees and small, rough pre-bonsai and show-ready trees, tools, pots, viewing stones and other bonsai-related material.
Trees for sale
A twisty shimpaku
Shohin bonsai from Fujikawa Kouka-en
Large black pines – ¥150,000
Tiny bonsai
Powerful kifu-sized maple – ¥380,000
Stewartia - ¥300,000
Small pots
Suiseki
I’ll say more about the exhibit self later this week.
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