Читать книгу Kyoto - John H. Martin - Страница 11

Walking Tour 2

SANJUSANGEN-DO AREA

The 1,001 Golden Kannon, the General and the Potter

1 Sanjusangen-do 三十三間堂

2 Kyoto National Museum 京都国立博物館

3 Hoko-ji Temple 方広寺

4 Mimi-zuka 耳塚

5 Hokoku Shrine 豊国神社

6 Kawai Kanjiro Memorial House

河井寛次郎記念館

Sanjusangen-do is one of the temples that all visitors to Kyoto wish to see, for its 1,001 golden images are a truly remarkable sight. These images are particularly unusual when one recalls the number of centuries in which they have been in place despite the many fires, earthquakes and even wars that Kyoto has suffered. While this walk begins with the spectacular golden Kannon images of the Sanjusangen-do, there are other fascinating sites virtually across the street as well as a few streets away, places which the average visitor too often misses. These other attractions are connected with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled Japan at the end of the 1500s and who brought prosperity back to the formerly war-ravaged city. In addition, the lovely house of one of the most distinguished potters of the 20th century, that of Kawai Kanjiro, is another site which few foreign visitors have heard of, and yet it offers an invitation into a well-to-do but traditional home right in the heart of Kyoto. It is a home of a man of taste and artistic ability, and the kilns in which he made his pottery are one of the unusual aspects of a visit to his home and workshop.

1 SANJUSANGEN-DO

Of course, there is little doubt as to where to start this particular walk, since the Sanjusangen-do Temple with its golden Kannon images will always top any visitor’s list of places which must be experienced. Sanjusangen-do is on the south side of Shichijo-dori at Yamato-oji-dori.

A fraction of the 1,001 golden images of Kannon in Sanjusangen-do.

Sanjusangen-do is one of the most famous temples in Kyoto because of its large main image of the 1,000-armed Kannon as well as the 1,000 golden images which surround it. The temple’s official name of Renge-o means “Lotus King,” the name given to the Senju Kannon who was regarded as the lord of all the other forms of Kannon. (Kannon can appear in 33 different incarnations.) The name “Lotus King” was appropriate for this temple since here the devotion to Kannon has been carried to an extravagant level with its 1,001 images of Kannon, the god of mercy, each image standing on a golden lotus blossom. Renge-o-in (Sanjusangen-do) was created in 1164 at the request of the former Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127–92), a devotee of Kannon, who wished to bring peace to the country by promoting the spread of Buddhism and its doctrines. The Emperor was assisted in the construction of the temple by Taira-no-Kiyomori (1118–81), the de facto civil ruler of Japan. The Taira leaders, as the actual political rulers of the state, identified themselves with the donation of the 28 gods whose images appear at the rear of the temple. These deities protect the Buddhist universe—as the Taira felt their clan protected and brought peace to Japan.

Historically, the temple sat amid the various Imperial villas that existed in this eastern area of Kyoto. It had many buildings, including a five-story pagoda in the southeastern section of the grounds, a Shinto shrine in the northwest area and an Amida hall, among other buildings. All these structures were destroyed in a fire in 1249. The temple was rebuilt at the order of the then Emperor Go-Fukakusa so as to appear just as it had been before the conflagration. However, only the Hondo (Main Hall) was reconstructed. Certain images had been saved from the fire, and these included the head of the main Kannon image, 156 of the 1,000 smaller Kannon and the 28 followers of Kannon. The Main Hall was reconstructed between 1251 and 1253, and the leading artists of the day recreated the 1,001 images of Kannon, of which 125 of the smaller images are from the pre-fire temple. The temple was completed and re-dedicated in 1266.

Sanjusangen-do, as with most temples, has a tile-topped plastered wall about the borders of its grounds, and its Great South Gate (Nandai-mon) was rebuilt about 1590 in the elegant style of Momoyama times (1568–1603). On the eastern side of the property, the temple outer wall is broken by the restored vermilion To-mon (East Gate) and corridor in the Kamakura period (1185– 1333) style, a mid-20th century restoration. A stone garden and a pond of the Kamakura period lie between the gate and its corridor and the Sanjusangen-do Hondo. The Hondo (Main Hall) is 390 feet (118 m) long by 54 feet (16.4 m) wide. The temple derives its common name from the fact that it has 33 (san-ju-san means 33) bays created by the 34 pillars that subdivide (and support) the gradually curving, tiled roof. (The word do in Sanjusangen-do means “hall.”) Each bay has wooden shutter doors and behind these are movable shoji panels. The 33 bays symbolize the 33 incarnations into which Kannon can transform himself in his merciful acts of saving mankind from the miseries of human existence.

The graceful curving tiled roof of Sanjusangen-do.

The central image of the Juichimen Senju Kannon (the 11-headed 1,000-armed Kannon) has 500 sculpted images of this deity arrayed on either side of him. The main image is an 11 foot (3.3 m) tall (including the pedestal) gilded Kannon seated on a lotus blossom. This Kannon, with eyes of crystal, was created in the yosegi style, that is, composed of many hollow wooden blocks that were put together and then roughly carved. Thereafter the image was finely carved, smoothened, lacquered and then covered with gold leaf.

It was created between 1251 and 1254 by the most distinguished sculptor of Kamakura times, Tankei (1173–1256), the son of the sculptor Unkei (died 1223), when in his 82nd year. It and nine of the smaller Kannon images here are the only truly authenticated works by Tankei.

This central image, as with the 1,000 smaller images, has 11 small heads about the crown of its head. Although the Kannon has only 20 pairs of arms, since each of the 40 arms saves 25 worlds, figuratively 1,000 arms are represented. The image is seated on an octagonal lotus blossom pedestal with seven rows of petals. A large oval aureole behind it has small images of the 33 manifestations of Kannon amid an open-work pattern of clouds and sacred trees. The smaller images of Kannon (each about 65 inches/165 cm tall) were constructed by the same yosegi technique as described above. This permitted several craftsmen to work on the same sculpture at one time, and the technique also created a lighter wooden image that was less likely to split. The images are grouped 500 on either side of the main Kannon, standing in 10 rows of 50 each. The images were created not only by Tankei (1173–1256) but by 70 other sculptors under his direction. The 1,001 images of Kannon symbolize the 33,033 ways in which mankind can be helped by this god of mercy (1,001 images multiplied by the 33 possible incarnations equals 33,033).

The gods of wind (Fujin) and thunder (Raijin) stand at either end and in front of the rows of 1,000 Kannon. The image of Fujin, the god of wind, stands 3.8 feet (1.1 m) tall and holds a large bag of wind over his shoulders. Raijin, the god of thunder, is 3.5 feet (1 m) tall and is surrounded from behind by a circlet of drums which he beats with his drum sticks, thereby causing thunder to roll. Both deities are of a ferocious mien, and both were actively feared and placated by the people in earlier times. Behind the 1,000 Kannon are the statues of the 28 followers (Nijuhachi bushu) of Kannon, Buddhist deities with human or animal heads who protect mankind. The Nijuhachi bushu were made during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) or later, and are approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) in height. The 28 images are the spirits of deified wisdom, beauty, prosperity, relief for the poor, etc., and are lined up in a row along the rear corridor of the temple. Additional images of the Nio, Fudo, Jizo and other Buddhist deities are also located in the rear of the building.

On leaving the Sanjusangen-do building, observe the platform under the eaves of the rear of the structure, for here takes place the annual ancient Hikizome Matsuri (First Shooting of the Year). The Hikizome (or Toshiya) Ceremony is held on the 15th of each January and represents the initial archery contest of the New Year. Since the arrows launched seemed to fly through the air one after another, the ceremony is also called Toshiya (“Passing Arrows”). These bow and arrow contests first began in 1606 on the west veranda of the temple, and they remained most popular among the samurai (warrior class) right through the Edo period (1603– 1868). The archers had to shoot their arrows from a squatting position, aiming from the south end of the veranda to the target, 3 feet (1 m) in diameter, at the north end, 197 feet (59.1 m) away. (As a result, the pillars have had to be protected by metal coverings against stray arrows.) In former times, the contests began at 6:00 p.m. and continued for 24 hours. At age 22, the 1686 champion, Wasa Daihachiro, sent a record 8,233 arrows to the target at the north end of the veranda out of 13,053 that he had shot. Today, the contest on January 15th begins at 9:00 a.m., but it is only a modest repetition of the Toshiya of former times. In truth, it is no longer a real contest, but remains as a tradition worth retaining. As part of the tradition of this ceremony, a collection of bows and arrows is displayed on the south end of the interior of the hall.

2 KYOTO NATIONAL MUSEUM

Across Shichijo-dori from Sanjusangen-do is the Kyoto National Museum, and it is worth a visit since it presents an excellent picture of the arts of Kyoto’s past. It perhaps is best saved for a rainy day (as with other museums) when one does not wish to be traipsing between outdoor temples and shrines.

The Kyoto National Museum was founded in 1875 as an Imperial museum, and in 1897 its original building was erected in the then current European style that can best be described as Victorian Neo-Renaissance. The museum was given to the city of Kyoto in 1924 and then was nationalized in 1952. In 1966, a modern addition (designed by Keiichi Morita) was opened. Originally planned as a museum for important items of artistic or historic merit from temples and shrines that the Meiji government took over, it has developed a substantial collection of its own—as well as borrowing from private collections and religious institutions when mounting special exhibitions. As one of the major holdings of artifacts and historical art of early Japan, the exhibits cover the period from pre-history through the Edo period (to 1868). In as much as the collections are extensive, many of the objects in the museum’s holdings are rotated; thus it is not possible to indicate those items currently on view. The collections include art, religious objects, and items of archeological and historical interest. These include sculpture, paintings, ceramics and pottery, metal work, lacquer, toys, dolls of Japan, calligraphy, sutra scrolls, paintings, Buddhist images and costumes. Chinese works of art are represented as well since they had a major influence on Japanese art and tastes in the past. Special exhibitions are mounted in the spring and autumn in the original Meiji era building. Labels are in Japanese and in English, and a guidebook to the collections (in English) is available in the museum shop. The museum also contains research and photographic laboratories.

RECALLING TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI

When one leaves the Kyoto National Museum and exits on to Shichijo-dori, walk to the right (west) to the corner of Yamato-oji-dori (the next cross street) and turn to the right. On Yamato-oji-dori you are then about to encounter the end of Japan’s medieval period and to become acquainted with the intriguing figure of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–98), the military general and civil ruler of the late 1500s (he ruled from 1585 to 1598). Hideyoshi, who brought peace and prosperity back to a devastated Kyoto, was one of the major personalities in the history of Japan. He was honored by the citizens of Kyoto in particular, for Kyoto was a city that had suffered the depredations of war and fire and the privations of starvation and disease, all caused by the country’s internecine wars of the previous 100 years. Hideyoshi’s day in the sun was a comparatively brief but glorious one. By 1585 those who opposed him had been conquered and he ruled a pacified nation; by 1598 he was dead, leaving a memorable legacy that the thankful people of Kyoto could not forgot. These 14 years were important ones in Japan’s history, and they are especially remembered as the glorious Momoyama period when art flourished, business and commercial enterprises revived and Japan was at peace.

Statue of a seated Hideyoshi at Hokoku Shrine.

Hideyoshi is recalled in many places in Kyoto, but in the portion of the city covered in this walk you will encounter some of the most memorable reminders of his life: Mimi-zuka, the mound which commemorates his brutal wars in Korea; the Hoko-ji, the site of the image of the Buddha that was meant, in a vainglorious moment, to outshine that of the Daibutsu (the Great Buddha image) of Nara and whose memorial bell, which was to herald an era of peace, led instead to the downfall of his son and the eradication of his line; and the Hokoku Shrine, the restored Shinto shrine to his spirit. It is best to begin with what remains of the Hoko-ji Temple.

3 HOKO-JI TEMPLE

The Hoko-ji Temple is on the east side of Yamato-oji-dori, one and a half streets from Shichijo-dori, just beyond the Hokoku Jinja (Hokoku Shrine) whose main entrance faces Shomen-dori, a street heading downhill to the west. The entrance to the Hokoku Jinja should be bypassed, for the Hoko-ji grounds begin at the end of the shrine property. Hokoji is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There is no entry fee.

The only historic remnant in the Hoko-ji, the one-time site of the Great Buddha of Kyoto, is its infamous temple bell. There is no charge to see it, but if you wish to strike the bell with its beam, the attendant may collect a small fee for this privilege. Although the history of the temple is fascinating, other than seeing the bell it is not worth entering the remaining buildings, which date from the 1970s after the latest fire to plague the temple. The Hoko-ji Temple was erected by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in part out of his own vanity and in part as a ploy to disarm all but the new warrior class (samurai), which officially came into being as a result of the codification of rank and status that Hideyoshi began and which the Tokugawa shoguns would formulate definitively after 1600. This “pious” act of creating the Hoko-ji Temple was hardly based on religious zeal. Determined to build a huge image of the Buddha that would outclass the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) of Nara, Hideyoshi boasted that his Great Buddha would be created in five years rather than the 20 years it had taken to build the Daibutsu of the Emperor Shomu in the 7th century. The temple grounds that held Hide-yoshi’s gigantic image and its hall covered an area 780 feet (237 m) from east to west by 822 feet (250 m) north to south. Hideyoshi’s vassals (the daimyo or lords dependent upon him) were required to furnish the funds and the thousands of workers needed to bring this 160 foot tall (48.7 m) Buddha into being. Originally intended to be cast in bronze, difficulties with the casting led instead to the creation of the image in wood. This was then lacquered, 10,000 bags of oyster shells being ordered as part of the raw materials for this process. The Hondo (Main Hall), built in 1587 to house this gigantic image, stood 222 feet (67.6 m) by 330 feet (100.5 m) by 200 feet (61 m) high.

The creation of the Buddha image gave rise to a way of disarming the general populace. Many citizens had maintained their own weapons for defensive purposes or for use when pressed into military battles in the previous century of the Sengoku Jidai (the Age of the Country at War). The armed monks who had plagued the government before being crushed by Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi’s predecessor, were also a target. Thus a government decree ordered the surrender of “any sword, short sword, bows, spears, firearms or other types of arms.” The avowed purpose of this 1585 “Taiko’s Sword Hunt” (as the campaign was known, Taiko (His Highness) being the title by which Hideyoshi was regarded by the public) was to melt down such metals in order to create the nails and bolts needed for the erection of the great hall to house the Buddha at the Hoko-ji. With the public deprived of arms, according to official pronouncements, the populace would have a double benefit: without arms, there would be less chance of death from armed conflict and, by giving their arms for the sake of the Buddha, the donor would be granted peace not only in this life but in the next world as well. In the long run, this not only removed the danger of uprisings against the ruling authorities, but emphasized the class distinction between soldiers and farmers and soldiers and merchants. It made the wearing of a sword a badge of rank, a privilege granted only to the samurai. The rigid stratification of society during the following 265 years of Tokugawa rule, after Hideyoshi’s demise, was in process.

The Bukko-ji Temple, which stood on the site of Hideyoshi’s projected Great Buddha image, was conveniently moved across the river in order to provide sufficient land for the gigantic undertaking. Canals were dug and a new bridge was built, the Gojo-O-hashi, the Great Bridge of Fifth Street, to facilitate the delivery of materials to the site. The temple was completed in 1589, and 1,000 priests participated in the dedication ceremonies. Unhappily, the image was doomed to failure: in 1596, a great earthquake damaged much of the Kyoto area and the Great Buddha was destroyed. Two years later, Hideyoshi was dead. The question of Hideyoshi’s successor lay open since his intended political heir, his son Hideyori, was only five years old. Ostensibly, the various lords who formed a regents’ council had pledged to support Hideyoshi’s son as the next political ruler when he came of age. Dissension among them, however, enabled Tokugawa Ieyasu to gain control of the government by 1603, both by guile and by force. Concerned to create a new ruling family, he determined to get rid of Hideyori in time. In order to weaken Hideyori financially as the years went by, Ieyasu encouraged him and his mother to melt 10 million gold coins from Hideyoshi’s estate to obtain the needed funds for a gigantic image to replace the destroyed Great Buddha.

Hoko-ji, home of the great bell of 1615.

For Hideyori’s political supporters, this rebuilding of the Great Buddha provided an opportunity to restore the family’s flagging political influence. Thus the rebuilding began in 1603. Unfortunately, a fire in the nearly completed hall destroyed the work already done. Ieyasu convinced Hideyori and his mother once more that the project had to be completed, thereby further sapping the Toyotomi coffers. By 1609 the Buddha had been recreated (in wood), and by 1612 the temple was restored. This second hall was 272 feet (81.6 m) long by 167.5 feet (50.3 m) deep and rose 150 feet (45 m) into the air. Ninety-two pillars supported the roof over the 58.5 foot (7.6 meter) tall Buddha. In 1615, to mark the completion of the project, a huge bronze bell was cast and mounted in its own structure. It still stands, 14 feet (4.2 m) tall and 9 feet (2.7 m) in diameter; it is 9 inches (22.5 cm) thick and weighs 82 tons. On it, Hideyori had inscribed the words KOKKA ANKO (“Security and Peace in the Nation”). Ieyasu, looking for a pretext to undermine Hideyori, whom he found too handsome and too capable and thereby a political threat to his and his family’s continued rule, had not only refused to contribute funds to the rebuilding of this popular memorial to Hide-yoshi, but claimed that the second and fourth characters in the inscription on the bell could be read as “Ieyasu.” Thus the intent, he claimed, was to place a curse upon him. In time, Ieyasu resorted to armed force, and in 1615 he besieged Hideyori in his castle in Osaka, a castle which Hideyori had inherited from his father. The Toyotomi family was exterminated, and one of the justifications used by Ieyasu for his treacherous and brutal course of action was the supposed threat that had appeared on the great bell at the Hoko-ji. Later, the head of Toyotomi Hideyori’s seven-year-old son was displayed at the Sanjo (Third Street) Bridge in the same manner as were those of traitors and criminals.

The Hoko-ji Temple today is a rather nondescript complex. The 1609 Buddha and its hall, which were restored at vast expense by Hideyori and his mother, were destroyed by an earthquake in 1662, and the replacements of these were lost in a fire in 1798. The new image of 1843, which replaced the previous Buddha, was destroyed in a 1973 fire. Thus the existing halls of the temple are not very important since all that was of consequence has been consumed by the flames of the centuries. What alone remains of the original Hoko-ji is the great bell of 1615 in a belfry which was rebuilt in 1884. The offending characters of KOKKA ANKO were removed at Hideyori’s order soon after the bell was completed because of Ieyasu’s pretended offense at the curse he claimed to read into the characters. Today, one can have the experience of pulling the cord which sends the wooden beam of the belfry crashing against the side of the bell—either to sound the praise of Hide-yoshi or to curse Ieyasu, as one is so inclined.

One other item of note remains from the 16th century temple: the huge stone walls along Yamato-oji-dori that served to hold the embankment on which the Hoko-ji Temple was built. These gigantic stones were gifts from Hideyoshi’s daimyo, many of whom competed with each other to see if they could send an even larger stone from their fiefdom than other donors. The stones are still in place, today encompassing the grounds of both the Hoko-ji Temple and the Hokoku Shrine. The entrance to the present Hokoku Shrine at the head of Shomen-dori is approximately the entrance to the Great Buddha Hall of the past.

4 MIMI-ZUKA

Before leaving the Hoko-ji, note the Mimi-zuka mound, which was created in front of the Great Buddha Hall of the Hoko-ji. It reflects the obverse side of the honor given to Hideyoshi in his own day, for it is illustrative of the cruelty of wars waged by the warriors of that time as well as of later times. The Mimi-zuka mound is on Shomen-dori just west of where that street intersects with Yamato-oji-dori (west of the entrance to the Hokoku Shrine) and immediately to the west of the children’s playground. Mimi-zuka is a mound in which the ears and noses of defeated Koreans were buried after the Korean wars of Hideyoshi in 1592 and 1597. The mound originally stood in front of the gateway to the Daibutsuden (Hall of the Great Buddha) of the Hoko-ji Temple, a hall which has now been replaced by the Hokoku Shrine in honor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The mound is a tall hill behind a fence and is topped by a very tall sotoba (a five-part memorial stone). In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi determined that he would conquer China, a part of his dream of ruling all of East Asia. He sent a massive army into Korea, penetrating to Pyongyang and the Tumen River to the border of China. Ultimately forced by the Chinese to retreat to the south of Korea, his war was not a success; it merely resulted in many casualties on both sides as well as a continuing antagonism with Korea and China. In 1597, he launched a second attempt against Korea so as to reach China, a land of whose vast dimensions he was not that knowledgeable. Harassment of his supply lines by Korean armored boats and the combined military forces of Korea and China proved overwhelming obstacles to his expansionist goals. His death in 1598 provided his successors with an excuse for a withdrawal from Korea, which lasted until the 19th and 20th centuries.

The custom of victorious armies to sever the heads of the defeated enemy for presentation to their commander as proof of victory proved logistically impractical during these overseas military adventures. Therefore, in 1592 the ears of the defeated enemy were cut off and shipped back to Kyoto in barrels of brine. They were buried in a mound, Mimi-zuka (Ear Mound), marked by five large circular stones in front of the gateway to the Daibutsuden (Hall of the Great Buddha) of the Hoko-ji Temple. Again, in November 1598, the ears and, this time, the noses of 38,000 victims of the Japanese forces in Korea were buried in Mimi-zuka. The noses were hung up by threes for inspection, for verification in Korea, and counted before they were pickled and shipped. According to some sources, the mound should be called Hana-zuka (Nose Mound) since it was noses rather than ears that were shipped and buried.

A moat 12 feet (3.6 m) broad was created about the mound, 720 feet (216 m) in circumference and 30 feet (9 m) high. On top was placed a five-story 21 foot (6.3 m) tall sotoba with a 15 foot (4.5 m) wide base. In earlier days, a bridge with railings crossed the moat from the north side. The mound and sotoba were built at Hideyoshi’s orders, and on June 12, 1597, he had 300 priests chant a requiem prayer for the Korean dead. In former times, when Korean embassies came to the Court on official visits, they always worshipped at this mound.

5 HOKOKU SHRINE

The Mimi-zuka mound reflects the senseless military ardor of Hideyoshi, and today it remains, ironically, before the Hokoku Shrine, the Shinto memorial to Hideyoshi’s enshrined spirit. The Hokoku Shrine is on Yamato-ojidori where Shomen-dori meets Yamato-ojidori, north of the Kyoto National Museum. There is no admission charge to the shrine. Its Treasury is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The era of peace and a growing economy, after the devastation which had been visited on Kyoto by the century of civil war, endeared Hideyoshi to the public. His festival celebrations, though sometimes brash, also warmed the citizens of Kyoto to his rule. Thus, after his death, one of the popular songs sung by the people at his shrine summarized these feelings:

Who’s that

Holding over 400 provinces

In the palm of his hand

And entertaining at a tea party?

It’s His Highness [Taiko]

So mighty, so impressive.

When Hideyoshi gave a tea party, he savored the quiet essence of the tea ceremony as created by tea masters such as Sen-no-Rikyu. On the other hand, he could go to the extremes to which his nature inclined. His passion for tea reached such a height that when he held a tea party for the public at the Kitano Tenman-gu shrine in October of 1587, he invited “even those from China” to attend. One had only to bring a mat to sit on and a tea bowl. Some 5,000 people are said to have attended the “tea party.”

On Hideyoshi’s death, the Emperor Go-Yozei in 1599 ordered that a Shinto shrine to Hideyoshi’s spirit, the Hokoku Jinja, be constructed at the foot of Amida-ga-mine (Mount Amida) to the east of Higashi-oji-dori, since in death Hideyoshi was seen as a kami (god). The shrine became a gathering place for the people of Kyoto each year on the anniversary of Hideyoshi’s death, a great festival being held in front of it. The festival was captured in a six-panel painting by Kano Naizen (owned by the shrine and on public view in its Treasury) in the early 1600s, documenting the admiration of the people for Hideyoshi. Such esteem for his predecessor concerned the new Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. As a result, through the years Ieyasu did everything in his power to erase Hideyoshi’s name.margin-left: 3em;Gradually, the shrine and the burial place of Hideyoshi were eliminated by Ieyasu.

With the end of the Tokugawa era in 1868, however, the new Meiji government began the restoration of Hideyoshi’s reputation together with the shrines connected with him. On April 9, 1875, the Prefecture of Kyoto received an Imperial Order to rebuild the shrine to Hideyoshi. A 10-year reconstruction program gradually restored the Hokoku Jinja to its previous glory—but on a major portion of the grounds of the Hoko-ji Temple instead of at its original site at the foot of Amide-ga-mine (Mount Amida) to the east of Higashi-oji-dori. Thus the Hoko-ji was reduced drastically from its original size and importance, part of the Meiji government’s hostility to Buddhism and a policy of downgrading of Buddhist temples. The former Kara-mon (Chinese-style gateway), which once had stood before Hide-yoshi’s Fushimi Castle, was brought to the Hokoku Shrine in 1876 from its previous location, thus depriving the Konchi-in Buddhist subtemple of the Nanzen-ji Temple of one of its treasures.

The Heiden (Offertory) in front of the Honden (Main Hall) at Hokoku Shrine.

To create the appropriate space that Meiji grandeur demanded for the restored Shinto shrine to Hideyoshi, some of the buildings of the Hoko-ji Temple were moved to the north, thereby restricting the temple to but a corner of its original site. By September 15, 1875 the shrine was in place and, in a great ceremony, Hideyoshi’s spirit was transferred to the inner shrine building. Hideyoshi’s cynicism in the creation of the Hoko-ji Temple, with its great Buddha, was now being equaled by that of the Meiji government in the re-creation of this Shinto shrine in order to reverse the disdain of Ieyasu for Hideyoshi. But its underlying motive was to show the new government’s hatred of both the Tokugawa Shoguns and their 260 years of political rule of Japan and of Buddhism.

The Hokoku Shrine consists of a number of buildings and, as with most Shinto shrines, all but the Honden (Spirit Hall) and its enclosure are open to the public. A traditional torii stands at the entrance to the grounds, and beyond it a series of lanterns (in vermilion painted wood) are raised on posts leading to the Kara-mon (Chinese Gate). The gate faces west down Shomen-dori, and from it hangs the original tablet-name for the shrine, created by the Emperor Go-Yozei in 1599. The cypress bark roofed Kara-mon gateway is supported by six large wooden pillars. Relief carvings of cranes on the transoms enhance the doors of this gateway as do the two finely carved cranes under the front gable. So realistic are the carvings of the cranes by the noted 16th century sculptor Hidari Jingoro that it is said that he left them without eyes so that they would not fly away. In keeping with the ostentatious nature of the Momoyama style of Hideyoshi’s day, the ornaments of the restored gate were gold-plated. Beyond the Kara-mon gate is the Honden, the sacred building where the spirit of Hideyoshi is enshrined, ensconced behind a fence which separates the sacred from the secular realm. A gilded statue of the seated Hideyoshi stands before the fenced inner area of the Hokoku Shrine. To the north of the main pathway is a smaller Shinto shrine with a series of small vermilion torii before its small shrine building. To the southeast of the main shrine is the Treasure House with items connected with Hideyoshi and his times, including the folding screen mentioned above that depicts the seventh anniversary of Hideyoshi’s death. In addition, swords, armor, iron lanterns and manuscripts of the 16th century, all with Hideyoshi associations, are on display.

6 KAWAI KANJIRO MEMORIAL HOUSE

In contrast to the late 19th century attempt to glorify Hideyoshi at the Hokoku Shrine, a short walk to the northeast of the shrine brings one to a simpler and more attractive site. Seldom can a visitor to Kyoto see the interior of a traditional Japanese house, but the Kawai Kanjiro Memorial House offers just such an opportunity. On leaving the Hokoku Shrine, a right turn brings you on to Yamatooji-dori. Follow this street to the north for three blocks. At the third cross street, turn right and walk east for two blocks before turning left (north). Kawai Kanjiro house is midway on the east side of this street. The house is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on Mondays. It is closed from August 10 to 20 and from December 24 to January 7. Entry fee for adults, children free.

Born in 1890, Kawai Kanjiro became a noted 20th century potter and master of ceramic craftsmanship. His growing interest in traditional pottery led him to be one of the founders of the Japan Folk Craft Museum in Tokyo and to bring attention to traditional Japanese folk crafts. Living in Kyoto, the center of traditional craftsmanship, he established a kiln at the rear of his house, and both his home and studio can be visited today. In 1937, his home was destroyed in a storm, and in rebuilding it and his work area he was inspired by traditional rural Japanese house architecture. The entrance to the house has a hall that would have been the area in which a farmer kept his animals. Here Kanjiro hung one of his wooden sculptures, an art form he took up in his later years. Beyond the entry hall is the reception room with a Korean-style wooden floor and an open hearth. A calligraphic inscription on the rear wall translates as “Folk Craft Study Collection,” and display shelves that can be viewed from either side hold some of his treasured folk collections. The room beyond the reception room was the family dining area with a large table. Under the table is a kotatsu, the traditional brazier to provide warmth to those at the table. An image of the Buddha carved by a 17th century priest-folk artist sits upon the table.

The dining room of the Kawai Kanjiro Memorial House, built along traditional lines.

A traditional staircase with drawers beneath the steps leads to the upper sleeping quarter with its wooden floor and ceiling. Adjacent is a small room with a tokonoma, and on its wall is a calligraphic riddle whose answer is “tea.” Here Kanjiro and friends could enjoy tea in a relaxed manner rather than with the formality called for by the traditional tea ceremony. The walls of this room, as with some of the other rooms, are decorated with the wooden masks that the artist began to make when in his seventies. Behind the rooms on the first floor, a gravel path set off by bamboo plants leads to Kanjiro’s workshop and “Smoking Room” where the potter’s twin kickwheel, stepped noborigama kilns and pieces of his ceramic ware are on display. The kilns were used by Kanjiro from 1919 until his death in 1966, and continued to be used by some of his followers until 1971 when new anti-pollution laws forced the closure of all wood-fired kilns in Kyoto. The Kawai Kanjiro house is a charming memorial to a famed potter, a house which illustrates how a prosperous artist tried to recapture the past in his daily life. It stands in sharp contrast to the golden images of the Sanjusangen-do and to Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s dreams of glory.

GETTING THERE

Bus 206 or 208 from Kyoto Station to the Sanjusangen-do-mae bus stop on Shichijo-dori leaves you at the Kyoto National Museum, which is opposite the Sanjusangen-do Temple. Alternatively, bus16 or 202 or 207 to the Higashioji-dori/Shichijo-dori bus stop leaves you just north of the temple, and the temple is one street west on Shichijo-dori from this bus stop, just to the west of the Kyoto Park Hotel.

Sanjusangen-do is open from 8:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m. between March 16 and October 31 and from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. between November 1 and March 15. Entry fee.

The Kyoto National Museum is entered from the Shichijo-dori side. It is open daily except on Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If a national holiday falls on a Monday,the museum remains open that Monday but is closed the next day. The museum is closed during the New Year holiday (from December 26 through January 3). Entry fee.

From the end of the tour at Kawai Kanjiro Memorial House, you can walk back (south) to the east–west street. A turn to the left (east) brings you to Higashi-oji-dori at the next corner. There take a taxi or bus 18, 202, 206 or 207 for a return to the center of the city or other destinations as desired.