On day 3 (Wednesday) we visited the Horikawa Canal, the project that Ron Lovinger and the University of Oregon did for the city of Kyoto.
The height of our tour that day was Shunko-in, the Temple of the Ray of Spring Light. Shunko-in is also in the Myoshin-ji complex. We met with Taka-san, the heir to the temple. I believe he studied philosophy and theology in the U.S. so his English is superb and he's knowledgeable about many topics relating to religion and Japanese culture.
The entrance to the temple building.
A view of a small part of the garden taken from the inside.
Taka-san giving us a lecture on the history of the temple.
A beautiful room with traditional screens. Although the screen paintings might be considered two-dimensional by western standards, they were painted so that in natural light the flowers would pop. Also, the images continue from wall to wall, creating a 360 degree view.
And of course, because I am an architecture student, an image of the gorgeous layering of the rafters and purlins.
The temple bell is a very old Portuguese Jesuit bell, however the craftsmanship is very Japanese. The bell is cast in parts so that the bell-marker can tweak the sound. During World War II, Taka-san's grandfather hid this bell from the government because all items made of iron were confiscated and melted down for munitions.
One of the sliding doors of the temple made of one single piece of wood. It's difficult to tell the scale in the photograph but this door is actually four to five feet wide and over five feet in height!
Getting ready to do Zazen (sitting meditation) with Taka-san.
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