Heian Jingu and Surrounds

Day 13 & 14: 07 July and 08 July 2012

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).

Momak from the rear

The front entrance

The Kyoto Prefectural Library with its more modern addition.

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 Originally made of wood.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.

 

Tokai-an: Gardens of the Mind, Body, & Soul

On Day 4 (Thursday), we had the privilege of not only viewing the temple and gardens at Tokai-an but also we were allowed to watercolor there. Tokai-an is a temple within Myoshin-ji is not normally open to the public, so this was a real treat. There are three gardens here, that of the Mind, Body, and Soul.

In addition, the retired head priest of Myoshin-ji and the 6,000 temples under it, was present at the beginning of our visit. I was overwhelmed by Tokai-an, both the architecture and the gardens and definitely didn't take enough photos, if such a thing is even possible.

It was at Tokai-an that I discovered my passion for overlapping roofs.

The names of all of the temples under the Myoshin-ji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.

Horikawa Canal & Shunko-in

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. 

Ganko & Takasegawa

On Day 2 (Tuesday), after another scrumptious Zen breakfast at Daishin-in, we went downtown to tour our project site. First, we went along the Kamogawa, one of the two major rivers that flow through Kyoto. Of the two rivers (Katsuragawa and Kamogawa) the Kamo is the more tame and refined, with paving and plantings along its course.

The Kamogawa

 The waters of both rivers are diverted into the city's many canals. Traditionally, the canals served as cooling, transportation, fire breaks, and fire control. On our side of the river, many establishments have outdoor seating overlooking the river. One such building is a restaurant galled Ganko. The restaurant rents the building from the original owners. The structure is many hundreds of years old and contains a breathtaking garden with ponds and streams sourced with water from the Kamo. If I recall correctly, it was formerly a home owned by a powerful member of society who, from his vantage point, oversaw the river.

Ganko from a bridge over Kamogawa.

 

The gardens at Ganko

The interior architecture and design of the building is also superb.  There is a variety of different spaces for eating depending on the preferred style or group size. I really wanted to try the food but my current budget does not permit it. Thus, another reason to look forward to one day returning to Kyoto.

Our Project Site: 

For many years, our area of the Takase canal has been in disrepair. In other areas, the canal is lovely, with restaurants adjacent to the canal and lively day and night activities.

A popular Italian restaurant overlooking the Takasegawa

A lovely portion of the canal with a Tadao Andou building running parallel to it.

  However, in our site area, most of the activity occurs at night. There are many many bars, adult clubs, and restaurants. The area is booming on a Friday or Saturday night but the canal is not exactly people friendly. During the day people use the street as a path to other places. They seldom stop in this area because most of the shops are not open until the evening and there is little around the canal to lure them. 

Our project site: near the abandoned school.

Some buildings that face the canal: an edge treatment clearly different from the pizza restaurant.

The canal and street during the day.

Often, during the day, it seems that there are more parked service vehicles and cars passing through than people. This is the issue that we are trying to address. Kyoto is very hot and muggy during the summer. The water and the vegetation provide much needed shelter from the heat. The Takasegawa should be a place people can rest and enjoy a break from the sweltering summer.

In the past decades, this strip of the Takase grew as an adult place and because of the rise of bars and adult clubs (because Japanese zoning laws  are conscious of separating adult pursuits from the younger society) the school in the area closed due to not having enough children in attendance.

The abandoned school.

Ironically, the Takase canal is adjacent to many very rich and lively places in Kyoto. It runs parallel to the Ponto-cho park and street which is a narrow space that is framed by lovely and sometimes expensive restaurants designed in traditional Japanese style. It is also near Kawaramachi, a busy street with hundreds of shops sheltered from the sun and rain by covered awnings. Beyond this street there is also the Teramachi, Nishiki, and Sanjo covered markets, essentially galleria of hundreds more shops and restaurants. On the other side of the Kamogawa is the Gion district, re-known for its beautifully preserved buildings from the Meiji era and earlier. Gion is also known as the area of the geisha.

I will write about Gion & Kawaramachi in more depth at another time.

Myoshin-ji Temple Complex & Kitano Market

Day 1 (Monday)

 Some beautiful buildings in the Myoshin-ji Temple complex.

 The small red Torii gates are there to prevent people from urinating on the wall. No joke. That is its explicit purpose. So if you see Torii gates on the sides of buildings you must find somewhere else to pee.

 On the 25th of every month there is a massive farmer's/craft/food market at the Kitano Shrine. There's lots of delicious snacks, discount clothing, antique goods, and much more.

Bonsai/Ikebana in old ceiling tiles. This is an excellent example of mitate which is the reuse of materials for new purposes. The symbol on the ceiling tile is common to Shinto shrines and can be seen on the roofs of many temple buildings in Myoshinji and elsewhere around Kyoto. Other symbols I've seen are two cranes kissing (a family crest), or the Chrysanthemum blossom (the crest of the Imperial family).

An incredible stand at the Kitano market. All of the bowls, cups, and saucers were made by a family. These items are all made from very thin pieces of wood that have been charred and waterproofed. They are absolutely beautiful and light-weight.

We intend to visit this stand next month so that we can bring home some gifts.

The Place We Call Home

The gate into Daishin-in. During the week, the gate is locked at 9:30 PM. If we get locked out, we have to sleep somewhere else. This has yet to happen to anyone.

 

The entrance where we remove our outdoor shoes and place them in cubbies. Every time we enter and exit a little chime sounds. This seems to be temple standard issue. Thankfully, it is quiet and melodic. Osho-san, the temple priest, and his family (wife, children, and grandchildren) have living apartments to the right of the giant wood sculpture. We turn left to go to our quarters. 

 A view from one space to the next.

Our tea room where we eat breakfast and hang around a lot. We also have presentations and lectures in there. It's a wonderful corner room with views into two garden areas.

 A view of the building where we sleep. Males on the bottom floor, females above.

 The small room with Naomi-san's flower arrangements. She is the daughter-in-law of the temple priest. She helps manage the temple and keeps the tea room stocked with snacks in the afternoon.

 The large hall where we had our Zen breakfasts.This will also be our studio space.

The garden outside of our instructors' rooms.

In truth, my room was too messy at the time I took these photos, so I will post images later of the private space I share with my classmate and studio project partner. There may even be images of the Japanese bath and etc.

The first day of class was Monday. We were treated to a scrumptious traditional Zen breakfast.

Clockwise beginning on the upper right: Daikon simmered in something (possibly soy sauce or dashi), miso soup, tamago or essentially a thin omlette rolled up (in center), rice in the covered bowl, a slice of watermelon, and pickled daikon.

The following day we also were treated to another delicious Zen breakfast (no photo this time) consisting of more pickled diakon, the remains of tofu processing - it sort of resembles cold, roughly mashed potatoes in texture (absolutely delicious and nutritious), more miso soup, this time with mushrooms, a poached egg, rice, and slices of fruit.