• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bonsai Tonight

An educational website about bonsai development

  • Blog
    • How-to Guides
  • Podcast
  • Shop
    • Bonsai
    • Books
    • Soil
    • Soil (wholesale)
    • Supplies
    • Tools
    • Video Consulting
    • Northern California Bonsai Resources
  • About
    • Workshops

Ninna-ji Temple

January 1, 2012 by Jonas Dupuich

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.

Ninna-ji Temple - Nio-mon gate

Nio-mon Gate

Guardian at the gate - Agyo Nio

Agyo Nio – the guardian on the right

Nio-mon gate woodwork

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.

Goten

Black pine with very long, low branches

Goten

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 display

Flower arrangement

Goten

Goten garden

Goten

Moss and pine between buildings

Goten

Shady garden

Goten

Walking through the Goten

Goten

The Goten’s North Garden

Goten

Pond, maple and pines

Goten

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!

Goten

More maples and pines

Chokushi-mon Gate

Chokushi-mon Gate

Thatch

A close-up of the thatch roof at the Goten

Shinden

Shinden

Lantern

Lantern

Roof decoration

Roof decoration

Five-storied Pagoda

Five-storied Pagoda

Koyo - Japanese maple

Japanese maples

Five-storied Pagoda

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

Hide and seek

Kon-do

Kon-do

Bell tower

Bell Tower

Decoration in front of Mie-do

Decorations outside the Mie-do

Mie-do

Mie-do

Kannon-do

Kannon-do

Kannon-do

Kannon-do foundation

Omuro-zakura - cherry trees

Five-storied Pagoda beyond the Omuro-zakura orchard – dwarf cherry trees

Buddha

Buddha

Nio-mon gate from inside garden

Nio-mon gate from inside the temple

Next up: the Ryoan-ji Temple.

Subscribe to Bonsai Tonight

New Posts Delivered Every Tuesday and Friday

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit

Filed Under: Excursions Tagged With: Japan, Kyoto

Previous Post: « Taikan-ten – awesome bonsai
Next Post: Ryoan-ji gardens »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chase says

    January 2, 2012 at 7:06 am

    Always a pleasure to see gardens and temples that I have visited over the years and the ones that I missed and hope to see some time.

  2. Tom Knoblauch says

    January 2, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    What a treat! You may also like to see kyotogardens.org for a virtual stroll (in the summer)

Footer

Follow Bonsai Tonight

Subscribe

Instagram ● Facebook ● Twitter
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Shop
  • About

P.O. Box 6560, Alameda, CA 94501 · 510-915-2025 · jonas (at) bonsaitonight (dot) com

© Copyright 2009-2025 Bonsai Tonight · All rights reserved · Privacy · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish. Accept Decline Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT