Kodai-ji Temple

This might be my new favourite temple

The Kodai-ji temple was established in 1605 by a nobelwoman called Kita-no-Mandokoro (“Nene”) in memory of her late husband, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The construction was extensively financed by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hideyoshi’s chief vassal and later Shogun of Japan; the result was a temple renowned for its beautiful design and exquisite craftsmanship.

Although the temple was ravaged by a series of fires in 1789, some of the original buildings still exist and are designated “Important Cultural Properties” by the Japanese Government.

We weren’t originally intending on visiting the Kodai-ji temple. The day was cold and rainy and we were only planning on going to a market and walking around some interesting alleyways. After we visited Nishiki Market we ended up walking through Gion, a downtown district of Kyoto that is known for having many geishas (which we weren’t lucky enough to spot); we only saw some tourists asking Japanese girls dressed in kimonos for photos on our way to Ishibe Alley.

Ishibe Alley is a beautifully preserved narrow cobblestone alley with wonderful architecture. There are some beautiful wood gates and walls, but because of all the tourists, there are now signs on every door saying “no photos”. We suppose that the residents got tired of all the tourists taking photos so our walk through Ishibe Alley was quite short.

At the end of Ishibe Alley we considered going home but decided to go up the hill because we noticed there were a few temples in the area. The first temple we spotted was closed on Mondays. At the entrance to the second temple we found, Kodai-ji, we considered turning back because of the entrance fee but Yuki didn’t want FOMO (fear of missing out) so we went in.

This was a really good decision because there were very few people and the grounds turned out to be very beautiful. The rain couldn’t snub our enthusiasm for seeing old wood buildings mixed into landscaped gardens and bridges spanning between buildings and over ponds. The garden was redesigned by a renowned landscape architect and is one of the finest gardens from the Kobori Ensyu period (1579–1647).

The walking route went through an old hall that was an art gallery.Around the corner of the main hall we found ourselves looking out on another stone rock garden. This rock garden had a cone of pebbles and a three-tiered ring with peaking rock mounds. Like most rock gardens, it is bounded by walls but there is also the former main gate in the centre and a weeping cherry blossom tree on one side.

Yuki thought that this garden looked much better than the rock garden at Ryoan-ji. It helped that there was also an integrated light show. Lights hung from the main hall cast projections on the door that made the them look like they were opening and allowing ripples to flow across the sea of pebbles.

If the large tour bus parking lot in front of Kodai-ji temple is any indication, it is quite a popular destination for tourists. Perhaps because it was a Monday and the adjacent temple was closed and perhaps because it was late in the day, the temple was quite empty. There were a few other tourists but we really enjoyed being alone. The biggest factor in our enjoyment of any attraction is usually how crowded it is. It doesn’t really matter how cool or uncool a place is; if it’s crowded we won’t enjoy it nearly as much as if we had the place to ourselves.

The Garyoro (“reclining dragon corridor”) goes up the hillside from one hall to another while also crossing a pond. It looked really cool but is closed to the public so we could only take pictures of it.

Another important distinction of the Kodai-ji temple is that it sits terraced on a hillside. Whereas most temples are on flat sites, the different elevations of the buildings, ponds, and gardens make an interesting composition.

The twilight also illuminated the lights that dotted the hillside, adding a calm ambience to the solemn atmosphere. We walked to the top of the hill and saw two old teahouses and then made our way through the remainder of the park, where, to our surprise, we found ourselves in a tall bamboo grove. Whereas the walking path in Arashiyama [link] is distinctly fenced off from the trees, only a low bamboo fence separated us from the tall bamboos growing on either side here.

It was nearly dark and it was still raining so it was really difficult to get good photos, but it was really nice to be the only people around and to not be rushed for photos and making way for others.

On our way back home we passed through Yasaka Shrine, which had some nice lanterns and a big a Torii gate at the end of a major street.