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ОглавлениеWalking Tour 6
HEIAN SHRINE AREA
Imperial Palaces, Art and Crafts Museums and Heian Shrine
1 Shoren-in (Awata Palace) 青蓮院門跡（粟田御所）
2 Okazaki Park Cultural Center 岡崎公園（文化芸術エリア）
3 Murin-an Villa 無鄰菴
4 Heian Shrine 平安神宮
5 Kuro-dani (Black Ravine Temple) 金戒光明寺（黒谷）
6 Chion-ji (Million Times Temple) 知恩寺
Jingu-michi-dori, which is central to this walk, provides everything from museums to a zoo to a concert hall to a center for the martial arts. It also has a shrine and a temple, both of which once served as palaces. One would think that a temple was a temple while a palace was a palace, but this not always true in Kyoto. The Imperial Palace had a periodic propensity for being destroyed by fire and, from time to time, the Emperor and his court had to find temporary refuge while the palace was rebuilt. Such refuge could be found in a temple that was temporarily sequestered by the court, and, on more than one occasion, the Shoren-in Temple was so honored. As a result, the temple has enjoyed not only Imperial favor but has been modified to suit Imperial tastes and still preserves some of the splendor with which the court endowed it.
That portion of Jingu-michi-dori on which the Shoren-in (or Awata Palace as it is also known) is located leads north to the cultural center that has developed as Okazaki Park in the past 100 years. At the north end of this street, beyond a gigantic torii that crosses the road, is another palace, this one being a memorial to the Imperial Palace of early Kyoto rather than a residence for royalty. The Imperial Palace of the late 700s has long since been destroyed by fire, and its original location was abandoned by the court centuries ago. At the end of the 1800s, on the occasion of the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of the capital at Kyoto, a portion of the original palace was reconstructed in two-thirds scale as a shrine to the Emperor Kammu who had established Kyoto as Japan’s capital and who had the first Imperial palace built in the city. Thus, the Heian Shrine at the end of Jingu-michi-dori today provides an idea of what the early palace looked like and also serves as a shrine to the spirit of the first and the last Emperors to reside in Kyoto as the capital of the nation. More noteworthy than the building, however, is the lovely garden behind it and to its side. Between the temple/palace of the Shoren-in and the partially reconstructed palace of Heian times (794– 1200) lies the Okazaki Cultural Center. Here one can find the museums of contemporary art, of the traditional arts and crafts, and of general art, as well as the one of the first public libraries in Japan. A cultural hall for musical events and additional private museums border the area as does the Hall of Martial Arts, a unit which was once part of the early palace and today continues the martial arts tradition still enjoyed by many Japanese. Even the Kyoto Zoo can be found in the Okazaki Park, and here occurs the annual fireman’s display of their skills and derringdo at the beginning of each year.
1 SHOREN-IN (AWATA PALACE)
The Shoren-in (Awata Palace) is on Jingumichi-dori, the street that runs south from the Heian Shrine to Maruyama Park. (Buses 11, 12, 18, 202, 203, 206 or 207 take you to the Chion-in-mae bus stop from which you walk east to Jingu-michi-dori (in front of Chion-in) and then turn left (north) to the Shoren-in. Alternatively, you can take bus 5 to the Jingomichi-dori bus stop and then walk south on Jingu-michi-dori to the temple. The Shoren-in is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; it is closed on October 4th. Entry fee.
A view of the Ko Gosho (Small Palace) from the garden at Shoren-in.
An exquisite former palace of the monzeki (Imperial) prince abbots, as well as the sometime residence of the Imperial ruler when the Imperial Palace burned, Shoren-in has a lovely Muromachi period (1334–1568) garden created about a pond. The site has been a Tendai sect temple for centuries and has had to serve as an Imperial palace as well from time to time. The temple had its beginnings as a city residence for Buddhist priests from the great Tendai monastery of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei. Priests from the Enryaku-ji often came to Kyoto in the 800s and thereafter to lecture, teach, hold memorial services for the dead or pray for the prosperity of individual aristocratic families as requested by these members of the nobility. Thus a need for housing for such priests on these occasions became a necessity and, as a result, the Juraku-in Temple was created at the site of the future Shoren-in to house the priests from the mountain monastery.
In 879, the Emperor Seiwa retired, and he built a detached palace, the Awata Palace, on the grounds of the Juraku-in, becoming a priest in the temple, a practice which was to become a normal procedure for many future retired emperors. The present Shoren-in temple was founded in 1144, and in 1153 the Emperor Toba ordered new buildings constructed. Two years later, the Emperor’s seventh son, Prince Kakukai (1134–81), became the head priest and second abbot of the Shoren-in. Thus began a tradition of being a monzeki temple, that is, a temple whose abbot was a member of the Imperial family. This heritage lasted until 1868 when the monzeki tradition was broken by the new Meiji government as part of its anti-Buddhist program. In 1868, the prince abbots returned to secular life, and the tie to the Imperial family ended.
KO GOSHO After paying the entry fee at the booth, walk to the entrance to the right and remove your shoes before proceeding along the corridors to the two main buildings or the garden viewing room, which also serves as a tea room. A roofed corridor to the left of the entryway leads to a second corridor on the right to the Ko Gosho (Small Palace), a lovely little building with a veranda on three sides. The corridor leading ahead from the entry brings you to the Shinden, the large palace.
The Ko Gosho was originally a portion of the Imperial Palace, and the present tatami-matted building was moved to this site beside the Ryushin Ike (Dragon’s Heart Pond) at the request of Empress Go-Sakuramachi (1762–70) when the temple became her temporary palace. After her departure, the Ko Gosho served as the living quarters for the Imperial abbots. The Little Palace is separated into three tatami-matted rooms by its fusuma (sliding screens), and these are approached by way of a wood-floored veranda/corridor that can be separated from the rooms by movable shoji panels.
The Audience Room at the east end, nearest the pond, has a raised platform (jodan) on which the empress or prince abbot would be seated. Behind it is a tokonoma whose rear wall is decorated with flowers on a gold ground. To the right of the tokonoma are chigaidana (staggered shelves) with a painted tree as a background while birds are painted on the cupboard doors at the bottom of the chigaidana, the paintings being by Kano Motonobu (1476–1559). Two fusuma and two cedar doors separate this inner area of the Audience Room from the main portion of the tatami-matted building. These fusuma are decorated with a scene of women with children, while the two wooden doors display a painting of a cart with a bouquet (to the left) and a loom (on the right door). The middle room of the three rooms has a painting of a waterfall and a pine tree by Kano Motonobu while the third room has two cedar doors closing off the rear area, doors painted with birds and trees. The entire interior of the Ko Gosho can be closed off from its wood-floored verandas/corridors by shoji (thin paper-covered screens).
SHINDEN The original Shinden, the main palace structure, was built as a copy in miniature of an Imperial residence, even to the cherry tree on the left and the wild orange tree to the right in front of the building. Originally the forecourt, which holds these two ceremonial trees, was composed of white sand, but the shade from the huge camphor tree within the grounds has led to the sand being covered with cedar moss. Destroyed in the Onin War of the late 1400s, the Shinden was quickly reconstructed. Then, in the 17th century, the daughter of Hidetada, the second Tokugawa Shogun, became a consort of the Emperor Go-Mizu-no-o (reigned 1611–29), and a palatial mansion was built for her at the Imperial Palace. When the structure was no longer used, portions of it were given to various temples, and the unit that came to Shoren-in replaced the Shinden. It became a palace in actuality in 1788 when the Empress Go-Sakuramachi moved here temporarily after the Imperial Palace burned in the Great Temmei Fire of that year. A subsequent fire in 1893 destroyed this building, and two years later the present structure was erected.
An image of Amida found in the altar room of the Shinden, the palace’s main structure.
The present Shinden is enriched with the art of Tosa Mitsunobo (1434–1525) and Kano Eitoku (1543–90) among others. Mitsunobo painted the fusuma in the main entrance while Eitoku is represented in the Royal Messenger Room, both on the west side of the building. The three main rooms of the Shinden face south and have corridors on all sides, the north corridor being internal while the others are on the periphery of the building. You enter the Shinden today from the main entryway to the temple by means of the wood-floored corridor. The interior rooms are tatami-matted, and the first room you come to (the southeast room) is known as the Blue Fudo Room. It has chigaidana (staggered shelves) on the left third of the rear wall while the rest consists of a large tokonoma which has the painting of the blue Fudo, a Buddhist deity. The most impressive Heian period portrait of Fudo, the original painting (now in the Kyoto National Museum) is from the second half of the 11th century and is in color on silk. The Fudo has a blue body with a contrasting orange garment; red flames rise behind his blue body instead of from the normal mandorla (aureole). His left hand holds a sword while his right hand grasps a rope. Before him are his two attendants.
The middle room is the altar room, the rear section having ihai tablets to the memory of the prince abbots of the temple on either side of an Amida image. The third room is called the Pine Beach Room from the painting by Sumiyoshi Gukei of a beach and a pine tree on a gold ground. The cedar doors outside this room have quaint paintings of Gion Festival floats by the same artist. Behind these three rooms is the internal corridor previously mentioned and then a 10-mat room with a kago in it, a large closed palanquin with the Imperial chrysanthemum crest upon it. This heavy vehicle stands out against the background of the white fusuma on three sides of the room, with their paintings of storks among pine and cherry trees. A Kara-mon (Chinese-style gate) entryway to the Shinden is on this west side of the building, and it marks the end of a path from the large Kara-mon gateway in the external wall to the grounds, obviously a former entrance to the Shinden for its Imperial occupants and royal messengers.
The Shijoko-do is a small square building situated behind the Ko Gosho, with Zen-style cusped windows and a pyramidal tiled roof topped with a large flaming jewel such as is found on memorial buildings. This building is the heart of the temple since it holds an image of the Shijoko Buddha. Here, prayers were said for the welfare of the Imperial House and the nation. The roofed corridor that connects the main entranceway with the Ko Gosho and the Shinden leads to a large room from which you can view the Ko Gosho and the gardens. Tea may be obtained here, and a small counter sells guidebooks to the temple as well as small religious articles. The gardens of the Shoren-in are credited to Soami (1472–1523) and Kobori Enshu (1579–1647). Thought to have been created between 1443 and 1489, probably by Soami, the Ryushin Pond and Senshin Waterfall (a three-level stone waterfall that faces the “boat landing stone”) were meant to be viewed from the Ko Gosho. A 13-tiered stone pagoda stands just beyond the pond while a small bridge crosses one end of the water.
The slope of the hill behind the pond is planted with Kirishima azaleas from the mountain of that name. The gardens were damaged in the 1893 fire and were reconstituted in 1909 by Ogawa Jihei. A path leads through the garden, around the lake and up the hillside, passing en route the Kobun-tei, a small building to the north of the pond. Created as a study for the abbot between 1764 and 1771, it has an altar as well as three places in which tea can be made. In the late 18th century, when the Empress Go-Sakuramachi was in residence at the temple, she used the building as a study. It has also has been used as a tea house.
The garden and pond are lovely at all times, but they are particularly attractive in early April when the cherry blossoms cover the trees and again in autumn when the maples brighten the hillside with their gold and red leaves. While they are not part of the garden, the five huge old camphor trees of the Shorenin are notable. Four of these giants are just outside the temple walls while one is next to the Shinden. One of the four “outside” trees is at the entry gate—a gate that was formerly the kitchen gate but now serves as the main entrance to the temple grounds. The long roofed gate to the right of the present entry, above the wide stone steps, was the original entrance to the temple.
2 OKAZAKI PARK CULTURAL CENTER
Leaving the Shoren-in and walking north on Jingu-michi-dori, the next cross street marks the Awata-guchi area, which has been a continuing entryway to Kyoto from the east, and here along Sanjo-dori lay the old Tokaido highway with its flow of traffic to Edo under the Tokugawa Shoguns. Until the end of the 20th century, much of this portion of Kyoto lay beyond the built-up part of the city, and the area was primarily noted for its temples to the east, north and south and for the famous swordsmiths who followed their craft in the vicinity.
In the 1870s, with the Meiji Restoration, the government levied restrictive laws against Buddhist temples and monasteries, and thus much temple land became available in this district for private or civic development. Many estates of wealthy or noble individuals came into being. By the turn of the century, the area north of Sanjo-dori also had its beginning as a cultural center when one of the first public libraries in Japan, the Kyoto Municipal Public Library, was begun in 1872. By 1894 Okazaki Park had been laid out north of Sanjo-dori in conjunction with the Heian Shrine, commemorating the 1,100 years of Kyoto’s life as a city, all but 25 of these years as the Imperial capital of the nation. The partial reconstruction of the original Daigokudan (Great Hall of State of the Imperial Palace) served also as a shrine to the first Emperor to reside in Kyoto as the capital. Nine years later, a portion of the adjacent area became the home of the first municipal zoo.
The two-story Murin-an Villa combines aspects of Western and Japanese architecture.
3 MURIN-AN VILLA
Before heading into the cultural center of Okazaki Park, it is worth turning east at Niomon-dori, one street north of Sanjo-dori, to visit one of the estates that came into being after 1868 when temple lands were confiscated by the Meiji government or when temples had to sell portions of their property to support themselves. Industrialists and government officials were able to obtain land in this area to which Kyoto was just spreading as a city, and one of these fortunate officials was Duke Aritomo Yamagata (1838– 1922), who had been born into a samurai family and who here created his Murin-an Villa. The Murin-an is north of Sanjo-dori and to the south of Niomon-dori just before Shirakawa-dori. Walk two streets east on Niomon-dori from its intersection with Jingo-michi-dori and then turn to the right. The entrance to the Murin-an garden is down the side street on the right. It is open from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is closed on Mondays and the New Year holiday period. Entry fee.
In the late 1800s the Nanzen-ji temple sold off some of its land, a result of economic necessity under the punitive attitude toward Buddhist temples taken by the government. Some of the land was purchased by Yamagata, a Meiji statesman and Prime Minister from 1889 to 1891. The villa was begun in 1894, but its construction was interrupted by Yamagata’s absence from Kyoto during the Sino-Japanese War. On his return, the villa was completed in 1896. The garden, finished in 1898, was designed by Yamagata and created with the assistance of Ogawa Jihei (1860–1932), one of Kyoto’s most famous garden designers; it is a comparatively modern one which varies from traditional garden planning guidelines by including unusual plants and an open lawn. The garden is in the shape of an elongated triangle about three-fourths of an acre (one-third of a hectare) in size, but it seems larger as it uses the device of borrowed scenery from the Higashiyama mountains visible in the distance. A stream runs through the gardens, its water coming from the nearby Lake Biwa through the Sosui Canal. Laid out on a slight slope, the water runs in three cascades into a pond and thence into the garden stream. A large rock is one of the important elements of the garden, so large that it had to be dragged into place by 20 oxen.
The villa is composed of three buildings, a traditional two-story main house and a two-story Western-style building. In the garden is a tea house modeled after an example of the Yabunounchi school of tea. As a Minister of State, Yamagata was involved not only in the Sino-Japanese War but in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 as well. Just before that latter conflict, the Murin-an Conference was held on the second floor of the Western building of the villa. Here, an aggressive Japanese foreign policy was determined upon by Prime Minister Taro Katsura, Foreign Minister Jutaro Komura, Hirobumi Ito, who led the Seikyu-kai political party, and Yamagata, who was a military man. Yamagata died in 1922, and in 1941 the Murin-an was given to the city of Kyoto which maintains it as a cultural asset for the public. The tea house is available for hire for private and public use as are the Japanese-style rooms of the main house.
The spacious Okazaki Park is famous for its cherry blossoms in spring and its maple trees in autumn.
By 1933 a new note was added to the park when the Kyoto Municipal Art Museum was opened, and two years later the Butoku-den center for the traditional martial arts was brought to the west side of the Heian Shrine grounds. An exhibition hall had been developed as an addition to the growing complex, a multipurpose unit, and as with all such multiuse buildings, its acoustics were not satisfactory for concerts. In 1960, a proper theater for musical and related events found a new home in the Kyoto Kaikan (Kyoto Hall).
By 1963 a Museum of Modern Art was added to the complex, joined in 1976 by the Traditional Industry Museum and the Nichizu Design Center. The area was further enriched by the locating of the Kanze School of Noh in the Kanze Kaikan on Niomon-dori, a school whose beginnings go back to the 1300s, and then the Fujii Art Museum settled here as well. In 1989 the Kyoto International Community Center made its appearance not too far from this cultural agglomeration, providing for diversified cultural offerings.
KYOTO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CENTER (KYOTO KOKUSAI KORYU KAIKAN) A short walk from the Murin-an brings one to the Kyoto International Community Center, where programs of interest are available to both local residents and visitors. As its name implies, it is meant to serve the growing international community in Kyoto and to provide educational and cultural activities on Japanese and international topics. A varied program is offered, and schedules of events may be obtained from the center. Activities are also listed in the English language tourist publications available in Kyoto. The building houses a library, meeting rooms, computer and video terminals and an intimate stage for dramatic productions, poetry readings, lectures, recitals and other educational and cultural activities.
Returning along Sanjo-dori or Niomon-dori to Jingu-michi-dori, a turn to the right on Jingu-michi-dori brings you to the Okazaki Park Cultural Center. Performances or exhibitions at the museums or halls below are listed in the English language newspapers and in the listing of events distributed by the Tourist Information Center and the City Tourist Office, available at most hotels and the Information Centers. Bus 5 or 32 will leave one at the Kyoto Kaikan Bijutsukan-mae bus stop for any of the places below.
OKAZAKI PARK (OKAZAKI KOEN) This park was opened in 1904 and consists of 21 acres (8.7 hectares) along the Sosui Canal that brings water to Kyoto from Lake Biwa on the other side of the Higashiyama mountain range. In the spring the cherry blossoms and in the fall the maple leaves of the trees in the park and in the zoo make the area a colorful and delightful place.
FUJII MUSEUM (FUJII SAISEKAI YURINKAN) The Fujii Museum is off Niomon-dori on the south side of the street before the entrance to Okazaki; the entry to the building is at the rear. The Fujii Museum is a private museum dedicated to Chinese art. It is open from noon to 3:00 p.m. on the first and third Sunday of each month, but it is closed in January and August. The museum will be opened upon a written request submitted a week in advance of the requested visit. No entry fee is charged but a contribution is welcomed. The museum’s holdings range from early bronzes through ceramics, paintings, jade, porcelains, furniture, costumes and other aspects of the art of China. Its paintings are primarily from the Ming and Ching eras. Some bronzes from India and early mirrors of Japanese provenance are held as well.
KANZE KAIKAN NOH THEATER The Kanze Kaikan hall, on the south side of Niomon-dori and west of Jingo-michi-dori, is a center for theater performances of traditional Noh and Kyogen. The Kanze School of Noh is one of five schools of Noh acting, and it was begun by Kan-ami (1333–84) and then developed by his son Ze-ami (1363–1443).
KYOTO MUNICIPAL ART MUSEUM (KYOTO-SHI BIJUTSUKAN) The Municipal Art Museum, opened in 1933, lies on the eastern side of Jingu-michi-dori, the north– south street in the middle of the Okazaki cultural area with the huge vermilion concrete torii across it. It is the first building on the east side of Jingu-michi-dori after Niomondori. The museum’s holdings are primarily in 19th (post-1868) and 20th century Japanese and Western paintings, sculpture and handicrafts. Aside from showing portions of its own collections, the halls are used for traveling or loan exhibitions as well as the work of local artists. It is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except on Mondays or from December 25 to January 3. The museum is open on Mondays when that day is a national holiday, but it is then closed the next day. Admission ranges from free to a charge of varying levels depending on the exhibition being shown.
KYOTO PREFECTUAL PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Kyoto Public Library, opposite the Municipal Art Museum, was first opened in 1872 and, along with the Tokyo Public Library, is the oldest such institution in Japan. The monument in front of the library is of Gottfried Wagner, a German who was brought to Kyoto in 1878 to help in introducing new techniques in ceramic making and in the dyeing of fabrics.
KYOTO NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (KYOTO KOKURITSU KINDAI BIJUTSUKAN) Established in 1963 and rebuilt in 1986, the four-story museum designed by Fumihiko Maki is on the west side of Jingu-michi-dori just north of Niomon-dori. The museum has an extensive collection of contemporary Japanese prints, paintings, sculpture, ceramics, lacquer work and other crafts. It is particularly rich in the ceramic artistry of Kawai Kanjiro as well as works of Hamada Shoji.
In addition, the museum collects modern art from throughout the world, and its photographic collection, based on the Arnold Gilbert collection of Chicago from the late 19th century, is notable. The large and spacious halls of this modern building are used to mount major exhibitions from Japan and abroad. A small book counter and coffee shop are on the main floor. The museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (until 7:30 p.m. on Fridays) except for Monday and the New Year holiday. It is open on Monday if that day is a national holiday but then closed the next day. Entry fee.
KANGYO KAIKAN (PUBLIC EXHIBITION HALL) The Public Exhibition Hall, on Nijodori to the west of Jing-michi-dori, holds exhibitions of a commercial, educational or cultural nature.
KYOTO MUSEUM OF TRADITIONAL INDUSTRY AND THE NICHIZU DESIGN CENTER The Museum of Traditional Industry, which opened in 1976, is located in Okazaki Park at Nijo-dori. The museum exhibits and offers demonstrations of the making of those traditional crafts for which Kyoto has always been famous. These include silk, bamboo, lacquer and paper works, ceramics, damascene, traditional dolls, cabinetry and Nishijin weaving on Jacquard looms. The crafts are available for purchase as well. A replica of an “eel house” or “bedrooms for eels,” the traditional narrow Kyoto house, has been built on the lower level of the museum. The museum building is a striking modern architectural structure with a curved lower level and a square upper part. The Nichizu Design Center on the third floor offers special exhibitions of a design nature. The museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is closed on Mondays except on national holidays and from December 28 through January 3. Admission fee.
KYOTO KAIKAN (KYOTO HALL) Kyoto Kaikan is a multipurpose building used for national and international meetings, for exhibitions, and as a concert hall and a theater. Built in 1960 by architect Maekawa Kunio, a pupil of Le Corbusier, it contains two concert chambers and a large conference hall for 2,500 people. It is a center for musical performances for the city.
KYOTO MUNICIPAL ZOO The zoo is the second largest in Japan after Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo. Created in 1903, it lies behind the Kyoto Municipal Art Museum to the east of Jingumichi-dori in Okazaki Park at the foot of the Higashiyama mountains. It is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Closed on Mondays. Its cherry trees in spring and maples in autumn provide a colorful backdrop to the zoo and the 700 animals within its spacious grounds. Entry fee.
BUTOKU-EN (MARTIAL VIRTUE HALL)
Built in 1935, the Center for the Traditional Martial Arts is located in the northwest corner of the Okazaki cultural complex. It serves as a school for fencing, jujutsu and archery every day except Sunday and holidays. The annual competition in these skills is held here from May 4th each year. The building is on the west side of the Heian Shrine.
4 HEIAN SHRINE
Heian Shrine (Heian Jingu), regarded as one of Kyoto’s must-see sites, is located in the northern portion of the Okazaki cultural area. Kyoto had been the Imperial capital of Japan from 794 until the capital was moved in 1868 to Tokyo on the demise of the rule by the Tokugawa Shoguns and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. The loss of the seat of government was a shock to the citizens of Kyoto as the city had been the Imperial and cultural center of the nation for over 1,000 years. The combination of the court and the great temples had enlivened and enriched the life of the city; now only the temples remained and they were under attack from a new government that was oriented to the Shinto faith and was anti-Buddhist. The court may have disappeared, but Kyoto’s heritage could not be ignored. In 1892, to celebrate the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of the city, it was decided to re-erect a scaled-down version of the Daigoku-den, the Palace of the Hall of State, of the original capital of 794. Instead of creating the replica on the site of the initial palace in the north-central area of the city (north of Nijo Castle), it was decided to place the project in the Okazaki area.
The rebuilt smaller edition of the Hall of State was dedicated to the memory of the Emperor Kammu (736–805) who had created the city of Heian-kyo (Kyoto) in 794. Then, in 1940, under wartime nationalism, the Emperor Komei (reigned 1831–67), the father of the Emperor Meiji and the last emperor to reside permanently in Kyoto as the capital, was enshrined here also. Thus the spirits of these two emperors are in the Heian Jingu shrine Honden (Spirit Hall). The rebuilt Daigoku-den (Great Hall of State) burned in 1976 and was reconstructed three years later. The creation of a portion of the palace of Heian-kyo in 1895 was accomplished on a two-thirds scale of the original structure. Rebuilt were the Daigoku-den, the East and West Main Halls, the Ote-mon (Main Gate), the corridors connecting the Ote-mon and the Daigoku-den, and the Soryu and Byakko towers of the corridors. A purification water basin lies to the left front of the Ote-mon Gate outside of the grounds proper. A huge concrete torii, bearing the Imperial 16-petal chrysanthemum in gold, was added in 1929 a good distance down Jingu-mich-dori from the shrine. The torii stands 80 feet (24 m) high. The top rail is 111 feet (33.3 m) long.
Heian Shrine was built in 1895 to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto.
The shrine (and this is a Shinto shrine with a worship area at the innermost portion of the grounds) is entered through the Otemon, a two-story gate that is a replica of the main gate into the original palace grounds. This vermilion painted structure with a blue tile roof has corridors extending to the east and west and thence to the north toward the Daigoku-den. The East and West Main Halls stand before the north–south corridors just beyond the Ote-mon. The ground of the fore-court between the corridors, the gate and the Daigoku-den to the north is covered with a white sand. At the end of the north–south corridors are two towers in the Chinese style, the Soryu-ro (Blue Dragon) on the east (right) and the Byakko-ro (White Tiger) on the west. In front of the Ote-mon to the west is a roofed purification basin.
At the far end of the courtyard is the Daigoku-den, which was the main government hall where the emperor held official business of state. When the Daigoku-den burned in 1177, it was never replaced—until this scaled-down version was created. The present building is 110 feet (33 m) long, 40 feet (12 m) wide and 55 feet (15.5 m) high. As with the Ote-mon, the structure is vermilion with a blue tile roof. Before the hall, to the east side of its front steps, is a cherry tree, while to the west is a citrus tree, two traditional plantings as existed in the early days of the palace.
The Honden (Spirit Hall), which holds the spirits of the two emperors, is behind the Daigoku-den. Its innermost sector is an un-painted structure of hinoki (cypress) wood, 27 feet (8.1 m) by 28 feet (98.4 m) (not open to the public). It is surrounded by a wooden fence. The Honden was constructed in traditional Shinto style with vermilion posts and beams, white plaster, green barred windows and a tiled roof. Before the Honden is the Haiden (Prayer Hall), where people facing the Honden can pray.
The entry to the magnificent garden (fee) is to the left when facing the Daigoku-den. The garden was, of course, designed by a modern landscape gardener, Ogawa Jihei, but he attempted to keep to the spirit of Heian gardens. The huge 323,000 square foot (29,000 sq m) garden is centered on a large pond, the Seihogai-ike, as would have been true 1,000 years ago. The first part of the garden is a stroll garden with many cherry trees and eventually a small pond. The path then leads on to the Seiho Lake which is connected with the Soryu-ike (Pond of the Green Dragon) by the Garyu-kyo (Dragon Stepping Stones), which provide a “path” across the water. (These stones once formed the base to the Sanjo-dori Bridge from Hide-yoshi’s time. They became available when the bridge was modernized at the end of the 19th century.) A roofed bridge built about 1910, the Taihei-kaku (Bridge of Peace) in the Chinese style, crosses the lake. It is topped by a phoenix, and it bears a resemblance in style to both the Gold and Silver Pavilions. The garden is lovely in all seasons: in spring when the weeping cherry trees and azaleas are in bloom, in summer when the iris and water lilies provide a visual delight, in autumn when the color of the maples enriches the gardens, and in winter when snow blankets the buildings and garden. The cherry trees can be found in the south garden.
A carp-filled pond in the garden at Heian Shrine.
NORTH OF HEIAN SHRINE Continuing north beyond Okazaki Park, we come to the area in which Kyoto University has its various buildings and then several temples and shrines of note.
KYOTO UNIVERSITY Founded in 1869, Kyoto University became one of two new national universities created for a nation attempting to align its future with the Western world (the other was Tokyo University). Previously, Confucian ethics, Buddhist lore and Shinto beliefs provided the under-girding for much of Japanese culture and learning. After the appearance of the American “Black Ships,” it became obvious not only that knowledge of scientific advances occurring in the West was essential for the development of Japanese industry, but that a knowledge of Western society, its history and its goals were needed as well if Japan were to become a part of a world on which for so many centuries it had turned its back. Such knowledge was to be imparted to the most able of young Japanese in Kyoto by its new university. Thus it made a major contribution to the modernization of Japan, as it still does today.
Kyoto University has continued to develop and to expand between the Kamo River and Yoshida Hill for more than a century. Today, it boasts of world-class academics as well as an international flavor. The university is spread through much of northeastern Kyoto, its center being between Marutamachi-dori (on the south) and Imadegawa-dori (on the north) between the Kamo River (on the west) and Yoshida-yama (on the east). Buses 31, 201 and 206 along Higashoji-oji-dori to any of the bus stops between Marutamachi-dori and Imadegawa-dori bring you to specific sections of the university. Buses 17, 35 and 203 along Imadegawa-dori also go by the university’s major buildings.
5 KURO-DANI (BLACK RAVINE TEMPLE)
At the southern point of Yoshida Hill, Priest Honen built his small hermitage, which he named Kuro-dani (also known as the Konkai Komyo-ji) for the Black Ravine in which he had studied on Mount Hiei. Kuro-dani is where Priest Honen came to the conclusion that the Nembutsu was the only means to salvation in the world after this one. In 1175, it was here that he came when he found the Tendai faith of Mount Hiei, where he lived as a monk, not satisfying. Here, in this location beyond the influences of the monastery or the city, he lived in a simple hermitage, devoting himself to prayer and study and renouncing the world around him. In his studies, he read Genshin’s (Enshin Sozu’s) Ojo Yoshu based on a commentary by the Chinese monk Shantao (Shendo) and, in 1175, at the age of 43, he found the religious conviction and satisfaction that had hitherto eluded him.
The Mie-do (Founder’s Hall) at Kuro-dani holds a seated wooden image of Honen, its founder.
According to temple legend, while seated on a rock, fervently praying, Honen perceived a trail of purple clouds in the west, the Western Paradise of Amida, just as he came to realize the truth of the doctrine of Jodo (the Pure Land of Amida)—that the repetition of the Nembutsu can alone bring salvation. One of the most precious relics at Kuro-dani is the “Purple Cloud Rock” on which Honen was sitting when he received insight: “Only repeat the name of Amida with all your heart, whether walking or standing still, whether sitting or lying. Never cease this practice, even for a moment. This is the practice which brings salvation without fail, for it is in accordance with the original vow of the Buddha.”
That Purple Rock, the main gateway and the pagoda are the only objects to have survived a 1935 fire. What had been a simple retreat was to develop into a full monastery by the close of the 1200s. Fires have destroyed the buildings on various occasions, and thus the present structures are all recent ones. Located on a hillside, a flight of steps leads to the 1860 two-story gate with two side units for the staircases to the second floor.
The most important building is the Mie-do, (Founder’s Hall), a bright, tatami-matted hall with shoji on three sides and a plain wooden interior with four gilded pillars about the central shrine area. The shrine has a seated image in wood of Honen holding a rosary, reputedly carved by him in 1207, and brought to Kuro-dani in 1609. Lovely bouquets of flowers are before the image of Honen.
To the south and east of the Mie-do is the Amida-do, with a seated gilded Amida image with a 1,000 Buddha aureole behind it, said to have been created by Genshin. The ceiling of the hall is covered with a painting of a dragon. On the rear of the wall behind the Amida is a painted Buddha image, while to the right side of the hall is a small case with the symbolic 1,000 small gilt Buddhas figures. The temple cemetery lies beyond the main complex of monastic buildings, with a three-story pagoda consecrated to Monju, the deity of wisdom.
The temple lies just to the northeast of the Heian Shrine and Okazaki Park. It is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is an entry fee to the Mie-do.
SHINNYO-DO Just to the north of Kuro-dani is the Shinnyo-do, another Jodo temple that was begun in 992, although its buildings are from a 1693 rebuilding. It also has a two-story gateway with side stair structures and then a three-story pagoda. The Hondo has an Amida image credited to Ennin (Jikaku Daishi, 794–864) while a secondary building on the left of the Hondo is the Shoin, a study with paintings of a pine tree, of a crane in flight and of a peacock and peahen. A tokonoma and chigaidana enhance the room, which looks out upon a lovely small garden of sand, stones and moss, the bushes at its rear screening the neighboring cityscape— and with Mount Daimonji as part of a “borrowed” scenery for the garden. (There is a fee to enter the Shoin and garden.)
The main festivity of the temple occurs from November 5 to 15 to remember a daimyo in the Middle Ages who recited the Nembutsu for ten days and nights. An annual Ojuya service is held at which the Nembutsu is recited. Many thousands of worshippers are drawn to the temple at this time. The services run from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 15th. There is also a procession at 2:00 p.m. on the 15th as the monks and children parade through the temple grounds.
YOSHIDA SHRINE Yoshida Jinja (Yoshida Shrine) lies to the north of Shinnyo-do. If you are on foot, you can take a path between them. If arriving at the Yoshida Shrine directly, take bus 203 to the Hyakumanben bus stop on Higashi-oji-dori, then walk south on Higashi-oji-dori to Higashi Ichi-jo-dori (just behind Kyoto University) and turn left. The street ends at the entrance to the Yoshida Shrine at the foot of the hill on which the shrine is located. The shrine is open during daylight hours with no entry fee.
Yoshida Shrine was founded by Fujiwara-no-Yamakage in 859 as the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwaras, the family who were the rulers behind the throne from the 700s onward. As a result, the shrine also served as the tutelary shrine of the capital and a continuing link with the Fujiwara family, whose original shrine and homes were in the Yamashina area just to the east of Kyoto. The Yamashina Shrine and the Fujiwara residence were moved to Asuka (south of Nara) when that area became the first settled capital of Japan. The shrine was later moved to Nara by Fujiwara-no-Fuhito in the early 700s when that new Imperial capital was created. Thus, as the power behind the throne, the Fujiwaras took their family shrine with them each time they moved.
A large vermilion torii greets visitors to Yoshida Shrine.
According to legend, the original Fujiwara ancestral spirits came to the Kasuga Shrine in Nara from their original shrine in Yamashina riding on the back of a sacred deer, since deer were believed to be the messengers of the gods. When the ancestral spirits were moved to Kyoto, it is said that once again they arrived on the back of a deer, and thus deer have always been associated with the Yoshida Shrine as well as with the Kasuga Shrine in Nara.
The Yoshida family leaders were the hereditary priests of the shrine, and in the 14th century these descendents of an ancient clan of diviners created an intellectual system meant to prove that Shinto was the root of Buddhism—in contrast to the reverse claim that had been promulgated by Buddhist priests as Ryobu (Dual) Shinto developed. They enshrined all “eight million kami (god spirits)” at Yoshida Shrine so it would become the central shrine for the nation. These pretensions came to an end when the Meiji government came into power and attempted to reduce any influence by Buddhism in Japan—even the claim that Shinto preceded Buddhism. With the establishment of Kyoto University, the shrine at least became the guardian shrine of that institution, if not the nation at large.
Yoshida Shrine is at the eastern end of Higashi Ichi-jo-dori where Yoshida-yama (Yoshida Hill) rises sharply from the flat land, and here is a large vermilion torii and two stone lanterns A wide tree-lined path leads to a second vermilion torii and to the flight of steps up the hill to the shrine. A roofed purification water basin is at the left of the second torii, and north of it is a small shrine replete with torii, Heiden (Offertory) and Honden (Spirit House) behind a vermilion fence. Here also is a small kura (storage building).
At the top of the hillside stairway is a plateau on which stands the main buildings of the shrine, primarily on a north–south orientation. The first portion of the precincts, separated by a vermilion fence from the second part, has at its southern portion a small roped area for a ceremonial fire. To the right (east) is a bronze recumbent deer, a reminder of the messenger that brought the deities of the shrine here from Nara. A roofed open structure, which can serve as a stage, is on the left, oriented to the west, facing a shrine building. Ahead to the right is a similar open and roofed structure.
Beyond the vermilion fence, which is entered through a torii passageway, is the roofed Heiden (Offertory), then a ceremonial stage to the right and, on the east, a staircase ascending the hillside to another small shrine. On the west side are the shrine offices and counter for the purchase of religious materials. Ahead to the north are four thatched-roofed main units in which the spirits are enshrined. Two sand cones stand before them in the raked sand beyond the Offertory. Between the second and third shrines is a painted screen with a lion. Outside the fence to this inner quarter is a pond on the right whose stream runs past the fence to the west. The main hall, the Dai-josho Daigen-gu, built in 1484, is unusual in that it is octagonal in shape with a thatched hip-and-gable roof.
The shrine is a popular one with the local people, and on ceremonial occasions it also attracts a large crowd from beyond its area. In a crowded city, its location on Yoshida Hill provides a park-like space for a respite from the busy streets below. It is also a popular venue for various ceremonies.
6 CHION-JI (MILLION TIMES TEMPLE)
North of Kyoto University is the Chion-ji Temple (not to be confused with the Chion-in Temple, which was described in Tour 3). Chion-ji is also known as the Hyakumanben Temple, the “Million Times Temple.” Founded by Honen as a Jodo temple dedicated to Amida, it received its nickname during the time of Emperor Go-Daigo when a terrible pestilence raged in Kyoto and decimated the population. The Emperor ordered Abbot Sen-a-Koen Shonin to do what he could to insure the Buddha would bring this scourge to an end. The abbot arranged for an extraordinary service in which the Nembutsu was repeated a million times within 17 days to implore the aid of Amida in ending the disease. A great rosary of 1,000 wooden beads was turned as part of the ceremony during the service. The prayers were evidently effective, for on the millionth repetition of the Nembutsu the plague came to an end. In honor of his efforts, the Emperor conferred on the abbot the title of Hyaku-manben Dai Nezu, and a huge, extra long o-juzu (Buddhist rosary) was given to the temple.
The temple has been the victim of many fires, and was finally and permanently located at its present site in 1662. In 1930, the Dai Nezu, the world’s largest o-juzu, was donated to the temple, and it encircles the interior of the Mie-do, the temple’s main hall. The temple grounds are entered through the Sanmon, the main gateway at Imadegawa-dori, or through the side gate at Higashi-oji-dori. When you enter the grounds through the San-mon, the temple nursery is on the right. Next you encounter the Shaka-do and the water purification basin and, next to it, a Busso-seki, a stone with the engraved footprint of the Buddha. On the left of the main entry path is the Amida-do, which holds a notable image of Amida, the torso of which is said to have been carved by Priest Ennin (Jikaku Daishi)—but whose head appeared of its own miraculous accord thereafter. Directly ahead lies the Mie-do, the Founder’s Hall or Main Hall, with gold plaques at its roof edge impressed with the Buddha’s footprints.
The interior of the main hall of Chion-ji (Million Times Temple) is draped with the world’s largest rosary.
The Shaka-do is the second building on the right. Before if stands the aforementioned footprint of the Buddha. Within, the main image is of the gilded seated Shaka, gold hangings enhancing the altar area. To the right at the rear is an image of Fudo (a Buddhist deity), while a guardian stands at the two rear extremities of the building. Behind the building are other structures for the administration of the temple.
The Mie-do (Founder’s Hall) is at the north end of the compound. On its front veranda to the right sits an image of Binzuru, the disciple of Buddha who failed in keeping to the standards of the faith. In life he was a physician, and thus some of the faithful use him as a talisman for curing portions of their body by rubbing Binzuru followed by their afflicted area. The interior of the Mie-do is resplendent with its large gold canopy over gold and black lacquered altar furniture. Black and gold brocade covers the altar, while a red and gold brocade covers the furniture before the main image of Genchi Shonin, a disciple of Honen, a rosary in his hand, in the center of the hall. The image is enshrined in a gilt case in the shape of a temple. Two large pine trees in urns at the large altar table contrast with the golden hangings from the ceiling. The bracketing of the beams above the front altar area ends in the shape of a dragon’s head to the east and west while the fronts of the beams are in the shape of lion’s heads. The ramma (transoms) over the horizontal beams have been carved in the shape of colored storks, a number of other birds and cherry blossoms. To the left of the main altar is an image of Amida as well as a number of ihai (memorial tablets), while to the right is a one-story gilt pagoda and an image of Honen in a shrine case in the shape of a golden temple.
The huge Hyakumanben Dai Nezu (rosary) of 1,080 beads is thought to be the largest such rosary in the world. It was given to the temple in 1930 to commemorate the 1,250th anniversary of the death of the Chinese monk Shan-tao (Zendo), who is considered the originator of the beliefs of the Jodo sect of Buddhism. This huge rosary is looped in double strands about the interior of the Miedo. It is 328 feet (100 m) in circumference and weighs 176 pounds (80 kg). On the 15th of each month, a special service that uses the Dai Nezu takes place.
Chion-ji is located opposite the campus of Kyoto University. Take bus 203 or 206 to the Hyakumanben bus stop. The temple is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
GETTING THERE
Heian Shrine is the highlight of this tour, and its gardens are not to be missed. The best time to visit is April, when its numerous cherry trees are in bloom. Take bus 5 or 32 to the Kyoto Kaikan Bijutsukan-mae bus stop. The shrine entrance is at the head of Jingu-michi-dori beyond the huge red torii that towers over that street. The shrine is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from April through October and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from November through March. Entry to the main part of the grounds is without charge, but there is an entry fee for the gardens.
If you wish to end the tour at Heian Shrine or the adjacent Okazaki Park complex, transportation by bus 5 or 32 from the Kyoto Kaikan Bijutsukan-mae bus stop or buses on Higashioji-dori can be taken to various parts of the city. From the northern sector of the tour, three streets to the west of Imadegawa-dori is a terminal of the Keihan electric railway, where escalators take you to trains going south. Various buses are also available at the intersection of Imadegawa-dori and the rail terminal.
