With our extremely long summer vacation, Matt and I decided to take another trip, this time south to the cities of Osaka and Kobe. We again went via nori-hodai, passing through Kyoto on the way to and from Osaka. For purposes of time and space, I'll consolidate our two Kyoto outings in this post, then move on to talk about the main part of our vacation.
On the way down, we visited two temples just a short jaunt from the main JR Kyoto Station. Walking north we quickly ran into the Higashi Hongan-ji, or "Eastern Temple of the Original Vow." Apparently it is in the top few largest wooden buildings in the world. In any case, it is quite impressive. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the site, so I can't wow you with the inner glory of the temple. I can, however, show an aerial view of the complex taken from an online tourism site and wikipedia:
You can see just how awe-inspiring the structures are, even from the outside. If you google for images of the temple, you can see some interior shots (taken both by rule-breakers and by temple officials, I'm sure). After walking around Higashi temple, we walked a few city blocks and wound up at Nishi Hongan-ji, which is "Western Temple of the Original Vow." It is modeled in the same vein as Higashi, although it is a bit smaller. Both temples allowed visitors to take off their shoes and walk around almost the entire structure. I've never been allowed into a temple before, so it was a great first for me. Usually the inner rooms are locked off and you can only see a tiny bit of a main altar. Here, we were able to walk through worship halls dedicated to the founders of Japanese Buddhism and the Amida Buddha, as well as study halls and little museums filled with Buddhist pictures and scrolls. I loved the feeling of the large wooden walkways under my feet, the smell of the incense, and the incredible wood carvings that decorate the buildings in every available space. I felt serene there, and could very easily understand the allure of living in such a space.
Fun fact: these temples are basically Japanese Buddhist versions of the American Mega-church. You can read more at other sites, but just know that the Nishi temple oversees several branches of the religion that are located across the world, and it runs a publishing company, bimonthly newsletter, journal, website, and TV channel, among other things.
On the way back home, we stopped to visit Nijo-jo, or Nijo Castle. It's a designated World Heritage Site, and well-deserving of the title. It's a huge building of about 3,300 square meters, screens and sliding doors lavishly painted by members of the famous Kano school, ceilings richly painted in vivid colors and gold leaf, and exquisite wood carving details. There are 33 rooms and over 800 tatami mats. It's an elegant and elaborate palace that Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun, built when he united Japan in the early 1600's. It is located near the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which functioned as a sign that the Shogunate was powerful enough to watch over the Emperor and maintain ruling control. In a lovely twist, when the Shogunate was forced to relinquish power in 1867, the power transfer back to the Emperor was made at Nijo, and the castle was subsequently given to the Imperial family.
Above: the main palace (it's a two-palace castle compound). This building is called Ninomaru, and we were allowed to walk through it. The photo shows only a small fraction of the entire building. It's a sprawling palace, so it goes on forever and only has one story. It is definitely a Japanese-style mansion. Taking pictures inside was expressly forbidden, so I can only post this photo I found on wiki to illustrate the beauty of the ceilings. I don't know if this is a sneaky illegal photo or a press photo... either way, I did not take it. Although I do admire it. This particular section was one of my favorites, because of the bright blue paint added to the stunning gold leaf detailing. There's also a nice bit of green. Besides the craftsmanship of the palace, we loved seeing the hidden inner rooms where bodyguards (ninjas) hid to protect the Shogunate. We suspect there are hidden passageways for easy access to all rooms in case of emergency.
One of the most interesting aspects to the palace is its floor. It is built in a special manner that allows the nails to rub against a jacket or clamp as people walk on them, causing a chirping sound. In Japanese they are referred to as uguisubari, after the Japanese Bush Warbler. We call them nightingale floors. Matt attempted to sneak over the floor without making a sound at several points in our visit, and I'd say he was over 50% successful. We imagined ninjas training around the castle until they could do jumps, rolls, and sword forms without making any noise on or from the floorboards. I loved the way they sounded. In America, a squeaky floor is irritating and grating. These nightingale floors really do sing in a different way. The sound is delightful, charming, and a bit soothing. I really didn't want to stop listening to it!
Outside were large gardens surrounding the two palaces. The second palace, Honmaru, wasn't open to visitors, so it wasn't nearly as interesting as Ninomaru. Interestingly, the original Honmaru was burned down in two installments, one part by a lightning strike in 1750 and one part by a large-scale fire in 1788. What's there now is actually from the Kyoto Imperial Garden, built in 1847 and later moved to its current location. While this makes the building nothing much to look at in comparison to the Ninomaru, the gardens are impeccable all around both palaces. To the left is a great example of the garden's artistry. Can you spot the hidden heron? He stood incredibly still for a long time, blending into the scenery as people milled about.
I'll leave off with a few shots of the main inside gate to the palace. It's a beautiful, ornate structure covered in gold leaf and carvings. Enlarge the picture below for a closer look at the butterflies and cranes depicted on this side of the gate, as well as the colors.
On the way down, we visited two temples just a short jaunt from the main JR Kyoto Station. Walking north we quickly ran into the Higashi Hongan-ji, or "Eastern Temple of the Original Vow." Apparently it is in the top few largest wooden buildings in the world. In any case, it is quite impressive. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the site, so I can't wow you with the inner glory of the temple. I can, however, show an aerial view of the complex taken from an online tourism site and wikipedia:
You can see just how awe-inspiring the structures are, even from the outside. If you google for images of the temple, you can see some interior shots (taken both by rule-breakers and by temple officials, I'm sure). After walking around Higashi temple, we walked a few city blocks and wound up at Nishi Hongan-ji, which is "Western Temple of the Original Vow." It is modeled in the same vein as Higashi, although it is a bit smaller. Both temples allowed visitors to take off their shoes and walk around almost the entire structure. I've never been allowed into a temple before, so it was a great first for me. Usually the inner rooms are locked off and you can only see a tiny bit of a main altar. Here, we were able to walk through worship halls dedicated to the founders of Japanese Buddhism and the Amida Buddha, as well as study halls and little museums filled with Buddhist pictures and scrolls. I loved the feeling of the large wooden walkways under my feet, the smell of the incense, and the incredible wood carvings that decorate the buildings in every available space. I felt serene there, and could very easily understand the allure of living in such a space.
Fun fact: these temples are basically Japanese Buddhist versions of the American Mega-church. You can read more at other sites, but just know that the Nishi temple oversees several branches of the religion that are located across the world, and it runs a publishing company, bimonthly newsletter, journal, website, and TV channel, among other things.
On the way back home, we stopped to visit Nijo-jo, or Nijo Castle. It's a designated World Heritage Site, and well-deserving of the title. It's a huge building of about 3,300 square meters, screens and sliding doors lavishly painted by members of the famous Kano school, ceilings richly painted in vivid colors and gold leaf, and exquisite wood carving details. There are 33 rooms and over 800 tatami mats. It's an elegant and elaborate palace that Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun, built when he united Japan in the early 1600's. It is located near the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which functioned as a sign that the Shogunate was powerful enough to watch over the Emperor and maintain ruling control. In a lovely twist, when the Shogunate was forced to relinquish power in 1867, the power transfer back to the Emperor was made at Nijo, and the castle was subsequently given to the Imperial family.
Above: the main palace (it's a two-palace castle compound). This building is called Ninomaru, and we were allowed to walk through it. The photo shows only a small fraction of the entire building. It's a sprawling palace, so it goes on forever and only has one story. It is definitely a Japanese-style mansion. Taking pictures inside was expressly forbidden, so I can only post this photo I found on wiki to illustrate the beauty of the ceilings. I don't know if this is a sneaky illegal photo or a press photo... either way, I did not take it. Although I do admire it. This particular section was one of my favorites, because of the bright blue paint added to the stunning gold leaf detailing. There's also a nice bit of green. Besides the craftsmanship of the palace, we loved seeing the hidden inner rooms where bodyguards (ninjas) hid to protect the Shogunate. We suspect there are hidden passageways for easy access to all rooms in case of emergency. One of the most interesting aspects to the palace is its floor. It is built in a special manner that allows the nails to rub against a jacket or clamp as people walk on them, causing a chirping sound. In Japanese they are referred to as uguisubari, after the Japanese Bush Warbler. We call them nightingale floors. Matt attempted to sneak over the floor without making a sound at several points in our visit, and I'd say he was over 50% successful. We imagined ninjas training around the castle until they could do jumps, rolls, and sword forms without making any noise on or from the floorboards. I loved the way they sounded. In America, a squeaky floor is irritating and grating. These nightingale floors really do sing in a different way. The sound is delightful, charming, and a bit soothing. I really didn't want to stop listening to it!
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