Kyoto Mountain Temples
New places seen and old places revised
In Kyoto I took a tour of Kyoto station again, this time admiring it from my architectural research as a microcosm of the city, both referencing the ancient grid, the mountains, and the sky. Then I went to the Imperial Palace. Nine years ago when I first came to Kyoto I was told that it wasn’t open to the public. Later it opened with a special reservation but today the public can enter on certain dates. The architecture itself isn’t that impressive and it’s not possible to go in the buildings themselves but it felt quite significant to me that I was able to enter the outer walls.
It’s impossible to be in Kyoto and not visit the many shrines and temples that are around nearly every corner but one significant project I visited was the Kyoto Garden of Art by Tadao Ando. Built in 1994, it houses 12 enlarged replicas of famous western art that was originally showcased at the Osaka Expo. It is unique as the first open air museum to see fine arts. It is without a doubt the best 100 yen ($1) I can remember spending ever. The museum has a route along ramps that descend into an open excavation surrounded by water and waterfalls. Built to a maximum of 8.1m below grade, the journey is a wonderful study of light and shadow that Tadao Ando is well known for. At the same time, the ramps float and despite being made of concrete, the spiral path makes for a light effect such that the weight of the material isn’t felt.
I was intrigued by how the concrete becomes a neutral background for the colours of the artwork and wondered if it would be possible to substitute for a different material. One thing that used to bother me about Tadao Ando’s work is that from a contemporary perspective I was always concerned by the large, embodied carbon footprint of so much concrete. Could another material provide a similar experience with better sustainability? I don’t think so, which is a shame, because I am really beginning to enjoy Tadao Ando’s work but so much concrete would not be suitable in today’s world.
Since this is my third, I think, trip to Kyoto I’ve gravitated towards many lesser known shrines and temples. This included some hiking between temples too. On the backside of one hike I ended up at Zenrin-ji temple which was interesting because there were a lot of moss gardens and the leaves were beginning to change colour. I’d originally marked this temple because of the koi pond that that also, did not disappoint.
Nanzen-ji temple had a large gate building and I wasn’t sure if I’d been up one or not before so I decided to check this one out. It was a little pricy for the view at the top but I got some decent photos and then went to Keage incline which is a decommissioned railway line that seems to be a popular photo spot with many young people in kimonos.
I was also happy with Nanzen-ji because not long after I visited it someone asked me for directions to it. Not only did I know where it was but I was able to direct them in Japanese to say, “over that way.” While I couldn’t give more specifics like the number of blocks away, I was still pretty proud of myself.
Due to my location, I decided to visit Ginkaku-ji again — the Silver pavilion. I forgot how busy it gets and being a national holiday didn’t help. I thought I might get better photos than the first time I visited, which I did, but they weren’t that great either. I’ve decided that I just don’t think the gardens or pathways are placed for good framed views. That’s okay though because there are plenty of other places that don’t need to be inundated by tourists.
Ruriko-in is one such place that’s well known by the Japanese but not very well known by foreigners. I was confused that the website didn’t have an admission fee but found out when I arrived in the morning that a reservation is required and that’s only possible through the Japanese website. Fortunately the nearby train station had internet and I was able to book a time slot in the late afternoon since it wasn’t the weekend. With an intermediate day to wait around, I visited Kurama-dera termple and then hiked over a mountain to Kifune shrine. Neither was overly special to me but it took up the day and then I could return to Ruriko-in.
Ruriko-in is expensive, $20 expensive but kinda worth it. Although called a temple now, it is actually a noble’s former villa and is famous for a lacquer table that reflects the trees outside. I’ve seen this image all over the place in advertisements for Kyoto and Japan. The view is most famous during autumn but Ruriko-in would have very good views in all four seasons.
It was quite the experience to see the reflected table view and the other viewpoints of the village to the adjacent gardens. They weren’t the best gardens I’ve seen from engawas but it was still lovely none the less.
I’m also very happy that my Japanese has improved a little since arriving and I’m getting better at listening and speaking. It’s a long ways from being remotely close to fluent but since everyone already assumes I’m Japanese and speaks to me in Japanese it helps that I can reply without too much difficulty considering my limited vocabulary. Hopefully it will only improve from here.
It’s a funny thing that even on the rest days I end up going out. I was setting off to get food for the day when I passed Chion-ji and decided to see the gardens. It didn’t take long but I enjoyed seeing the gardens from the engawa and the artwork inside. It also led me to discovering Toshio Tabuchi and making some notes for my future architectural endeavours. While this trip is focused on experiencing architecture, I’m also on the lookout for arts and crafts that can inform my design, thinking, and representation. Toshio’s work was something that might be useful for representation in the future and I’ve become cognizant that I need to document and make notes about this kind of work, especially since a lot of arts and crafts I can’t take pictures of (there were signs of no photos).
