Temple, Town, & Tourists

A day off well spent exploring a bit of Kyoto, and taking many photos. With map in hand, courtesy of Tim, I set off for a nice four hour journey through three different locations.

First stop, Kiyomizu-dera, one of the more popular temples in Kyoto. 

Entrance Gate

Bell

Pagoda

Kiyomizu-dera

This gentleman is the gatekeeper of the "Womb of Zuiga-Bosatsu", which is the basement of Zuiga Hall. For a donation of 100 yen, you get to enter the Womb. First, you descend the stairs and pass through a doorway into pitch darkness; the belief is that in the complete darkness there is no space for your attachment. Using a thick string of Buddhist beads carved into a waist-high bannister to your left as a guide, you then walk the basement path. The path turns a few times, until finally you stand before a very large and squat stone, lit by a soft yellow-orange light. Carved upon its surface is the Sanskrit character hara, "which is known as a motherly Buddha" who will supposedly grant any wishes you have if they are sincere. At this point, you then make a wish using prayer, then walk around the stone to exit out and up from the Womb. The literature adds that "...you will purify yourself and feel the rebirth with the virtue of Zuiga Bosatsu". It was definitely a meditative experience. 

 

Prayers...

...of mice and men.

There was a rather plain building just before this one. Inside was an exhibition from a local photographer, Kai Fusayoshi. I chatted with him briefly, and bought a postcard of one of his images. He owns a cafe and a bar in Kyoto, and gave me a map to both.

Dragon chouzuya

Leaves beginning to turn.

Beautifully carved stones...

...and stone figures.

A Buddhist ceremony was taking place in this building. The chanting, drumming, and bells were lovely.

Cemetary city

simple elegance

Note the tree stump among the towering markers.

After that, a nice little stroll to Sannenzaka, a part of Kyoto that is an architectural preservation area. Many of the buildings still retain their original facade design.

Remember the photographer I mentioned above? This prop was used in one of his photographs. Interesting coincidence.

Entering Sennenzaka

There were many women wearing kimonos, but this was the only fully made up geisha I saw walking about. The costumes are very beautiful.

 

Jinja?

simple but elegant

There are a lot of great shops, especially for specialty foods, and many of them give out free samples.

These berries covered the entire wall of one small shop.

The last stop of this little hike was Yasaka-jinja. 

Un Shishi

Entrance Gate

lanterns abound

Torii

The End Path