On Saturday, 07 July, I spent the day in. The tearoom was crumby for all the breakfasts and tea snacks and I desperately disliked sitting on the tatami only to find my legs covered in leftover crumbs. I learned to clean the tatami, which a bucket of water and a cloth. Tatami is alarmingly resilient. As long as you work along the grain, the mats keep together nicely. If spilled, liquids usually rest on the surface. I accidentally spilled a small bit of my body oil and wiped it off with my hand with no ill effects and no visible evidence of the mishap.
Heian Jingu
By Sunday, I had to get away. I wanted to be away from the temple and everyone around. It struck me, quite suddenly, how unbearable the constant company of others can be. I've always cherished my privacy and enjoyed solitude, neither of which exists at Daishin-in. Even though it was late in the afternoon, I hopped on a bus and visited Heian Jingu, the garden I studied last spring.
Heian Jingu is near Okezaki Park, and it has become a sort of cultural districts with many museums, a library, and concert hall in the area. MomaK, designed by Fumihiko Maki is also nearby. I was glad to be able to check it out (though I did not go inside).
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| Momak from the rear |
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| The front entrance |
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| The Kyoto Prefectural Library with its more modern addition. |
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| The shrine gate. Originally made of wood. Reconstructed out of ferroconcrete. |
Unfortunately, my visit did not coincide with the blooming of any of the flowers in the garden, so things were quite sparse. Despite this, it was still wonderful to see the garden I had spent so much time trying to understand. I'm a bit distressed that I could not find the 8-planked Yatsuhashi bridge that I thought was so lovely in photographs. After I told my instructor of my visit he suggested that sometimes areas are closed off to visitors due to danger or restoration. Since I had noticed many blocked paths while I was touring, I consider this a likelihood.
