Jeezum crow, we walked a lot today. Here's the abbreviated version of a very long but culturally-soaked day:
Kyoto has many " UNESCO's World Heritage List" sites, which means they are "internationally recognized as a place of exceptional and universal value: a cultural heritage site worthy of preservation for the benefit of all mankind." Rokuonji Temple (Golden Pavilion Temple) was the first we visited today.
It was a villa that was converted into a Zen temple in 1422. This temple, Shari-den "Kinkaku (Golden Pavilion)," where the ashes of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, are supposed to be enshrined, is particularly famous.
The pavilion is a three-story building. Each floor is built in a different style; the first floor in the court noblemen's residence style of the Heian period, the second floor in the samurai warrior's house style, and the third floor in the Zen temple style. Gold leafing has been applied to the second and third floors.
On the top of the roof has been placed the brilliant figure of Ho-o, a legendary bird in China. (Yes, it makes me think of Harry Potter, too).
The pavilion was set fire and burned down in 1950, and re-built in 1955. "The young man who set fire to Kinkaku-ji entered the priesthood after being entranced by the building's beauty, and gradually became obsessed with the idea that the only thing that would bring his asthetic senses to perfection would be the sight of the building going up in flames." Before it was burned down, it had stood on this site for 500 years.
People were throwing coins at this, trying to hit the bowl, so we did too.
FYI, my coin jumped out of the smaller bowl and into the bigger one, so I figured that had to be extra good luck or something.
The next site was Ninnaji Temple, which was completed in 888, and has stood here for more than one thousand years. In Meiji 20 (1887), most of the palace buildins of Ninna-ji were lost in a fire, and it was reconstructed was completed in Taisho 3 (1914). Here's the front gate:
Which were guarded by these guys:
David liked these guys because their hammer-toes were almost as bad as his.
The screens inside the rooms were beautiful:
And the gardens were also very peaceful:
On the grounds were a lot more shrines, which at this point started to look the same after a while. They have statues of dieties enshrined inside, but you're not allowed to see any of them.
This is the Five Story Pagoda - that's David there with the sun umbrella. He made me walk under it with him, because only ladies usually have umbrella's not men, and he didn't want to seem silly.
After a small Udon-noodle and tofu lunch, we headed to Sanjusangen-do, which was my favorite site for the day, and one fo the most impressive things I've ever seen. It was destroyed by fire (did they all burn down at one point?) but was rebuilt in the 3rd year of Bunei (1266) where it has stood for over 750 years.
Each statue was different, either headdress, objects the arms are holding, etc.
This was in the middle, a famous thousand-armed buddha. Pictures don't do it justice, this statue was huge.
We spent the evening trying to do another walking tour, which, in addition to sore feet and crabbiness that bordered on tears and a serious need for a drink, resulted in a wholel lot of pictures of closed temple doors because it was past visiting hours.
What street are we on now? On the map, this was Nishino-dori. And you wonder why it's so hard to get around in this city.
Here's the tallest pagoda in Kyoto (also closed).
We finally made it back to the hotel, feet hurting, but had enough energy to snap a pic of the mountains at dusk:
Fun fact for the day: Did you know that the toothpick was introduced into Japan in 538 AD? Buddha had originally taught his disciples to clean their teeth with a tufted toothbrush. Among the "18 Essential Items" that a Buddhist monk was allowed to passess, the first is the toothpick. At the Sanjusangen-do Temple, a Buddhist service for toothpicks is held on Sunday in January and 3rd of March.
Now you know.
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