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Published: October 10th 2018
Eikando
Such beauty!We again got an early start to our temple viewing today...we arrived at the first one just a few minutes after it opened at 8:00 am! This first temp!e is called Sanjusangen, and home to the 1000 gilded Buddha statues and their fierce guardians, all surrounding a beautiful large Buddha statue. The statues are made of wood, and were carved Tankei and others from 1192 to 1333.
This a very popular tourist attraction, and we were fortunate to be there when the 400 foot long hall was nearly empty. I was moved by the calm beauty of the large Kannon statue. No photos were allowed, so I posted some Wikipedia.
Next we walked a block to visit the Chishaku-in Temple, where renown screen paintings are displayed and there is an exquisite small garden and pond.
We walked back home, and stumbled upon a tiny shrine, where a 900 year old camphor tree still flourishes, right on a main road. The tree is immense and beautifully pruned.
After breakfast at home, we walked to Kyoto station, and found the bus that would take us to Ginkaju Temple, from which we would walk the Philosopher's path, visiting several temples and
shrines along the way. The busses have one fare no matter the length of your trip (about $2).
Ginkaju is a smaller complex, and only two buildings are original. Most of Kyoto's temples were burnt down in the Civil War in 1467, and others were destroyed by fire at other times. The reconstructed Silver Pavilion sits in the middle of a beautiful garden.
Our next visit was th e Otoyo Jinja, a shrine best known for its guardian rats! The area was a bit overgrown and a nice contrast to the immaculate gardens of the temples.
We continued along the path, past expensive homes, viewpoints, and even a car haven! The temples often back up the steep mountains and their gardens blend seamlessly into the mountain forests. At one point, we came across a mother monkey and her baby, on the roof of a house. She was stealing fruit from a garden.
Our last temple of the day was Eikando. We arrived about a half hour before closing, but we could stay an hour after the gates closed. The complex was large, with buildings on the mountain side. We missed the entrance to the tour route,
Sanjusangendo_Thousand-armed Kannon (photo from Wikipedia)
This image really moved me...I think it was the peacefulness of his expression. and walked a steep path up to the pagoda, where we thought we could enter the main buildings. We came to a dead end, and decided to climb over a railing to avoid going all the way back down....no one stopped us, but part way through the walkway, we realized that we needed to have our shoes off....
We ended up sitting in a temple, on the floor, listening to bells being struck all around us, and a priest chanting.....It was lovely....
We found our bus back to Kyoto station, ate dinner in the amazing lower level, filled with restaurants and shops, and took our tired feet home.
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