Japan's aesthetics and art have always fascinated me. Our tour of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto was excellent and left us wanting for more. So we spent one of our days in Kyoto (Feb. 4, if anyone's keeping track) touring Daitokuji, a large Zen Buddhist compound in Kyoto that contained a number of different temples and their gardens. The fact that it was the middle of winter meant we had the place largely to ourselves, even on a Saturday morning. This made for a generally tranquil walk through the grounds of the complex (I say generally because our walk was slightly interrupted by the wailing of fire trucks rushing to put out a nearby fire - as we've mentioned before, Japanese architecture and fire seem to mix pretty often, and often not well).
Instead of trying to describe Daitokuji, I'll try and let our photos speak for us:
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The entrance to Daitokuji. Note the absence of hordes of tourists.
The temperature was probably around 35 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 7 degrees Celsius).
Invigorating, but the peacefulness and absence of tourist swarms was worth it! |
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This is a representative depiction of what the pathways around the complex looked like.
Again, note the absence of hordes of tourists. Very Zen. |
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| A temple roof. Love the lines, and the simple but beautiful ornamentation. |
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| A closeup of another roof in the same style. Just looking at it makes me feel calm. |
We did notice that all of the temples were established by various warlords and nobles during Japan's turbulent history. Which raised an interesting and perhaps universal paradox of human nature; how men of violence could simultaneously practice a religion of peace and tranquility. Today, Japan is purposefully non-aggressive (which I think all its Asian neighbours appreciate). Nonetheless, I think this paradox lies somewhere within all of us...
Eventually, we had our fill of temples and rock gardens. Our next stop was Gion - a neighborhood in eastern Kyoto known for its traditional Japanese architecture, and for its geishas.
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The view of Gion as we were about to cross the street and enter the neighborhood.
Note the more traditional Japanese architecture of the buildings. |
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| The view behind us, of a more modern Kyoto. |
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| On our way to Gion, we came across this. Naturally, they served breakfast. |
We didn't see any geishas in Gion. We did, however, see a lot of snack shops and restaurants, which made us a little hungry (we may have paused to pick up a snack or two). And we were exposed to Japanese electioneering, in the form of a political candidate driving around in a truck, loudspeakers blaring his name, while his supporters went along the sidewalks handing out pamphlets (initially I thought they were advertising a department store sale - I'm unsure what that says about me, or about their chosen method of campaigning).
Our wandering in Gion was not aimless though; we were looking for a small house where a Kyoto local taught people about the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. We found it, but were a little early for tea, and so we decided to do a little more temple and shrine exploration - the Chion-In Temple and Yasaka Shrine were conveniently close by.
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The gate to the Chion-in Temple. Saying it was big is an understatement.
Unfortunately it was also closed by the time we arrived, so this is all we saw of it. |
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| The gate to the Yasaka shrine. Cute girl in the foreground. |
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| The Yasaka shrine at twilight, with Mr. Moon in the background. |
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| A close-up of the Yasaka shrine. |
By the time we finished wandering through Yasaka, it was time for our tea ceremony lesson at En. We didn't take any photos during the tea ceremony (it seemed impolite), but it was just three of us: Our teacher, Holly, and me. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to the Japanese tea ceremony. We spent just over an hour drinking tea, chatting, and learning about the tea ceremony, which was a great way to relax after having walked around Kyoto all day. Our teacher's English was excellent, and she patiently answered all our questions about the tea ceremony, Kyoto, and Japanese culture. I've concluded that a traditional Japanese tea ceremony is perhaps a little too formal and too long for me (4+ hours!), but the core elements of courtesy, hospitality, and appreciation for beauty in even the little things, are worth holding on to.
By the time we left the small tea house and were back on the streets of Gion, it was cold and dark, and we were hungry. Kyoto is famous for its yudofu, a form of Japanese tofu, and we'd been recommended a place - Nanzenji Junsei, which wasn't too far from us. When we arrived, the only people there were all Japanese - always a good sign!
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| Our yudofu meal at Nanzenji Junsei. An array of vegetables, tofu, and a little sashimi. |
Our dinner that night was probably the healthiest we'd had in Japan. There was a little fried tempura (all vegetables), a little sashimi, and the rest of it was either steamed or boiled vegetables and tofu. The yudofu itself was cooked in an earthenware bowl over a burner set into our table, and it really helped to warm us up. Unfortunately, neither of us was terribly wowed by the meal that night. To us, it was good, but ultimately too simple and a little uninspiring. Thinking back on it, there wasn't anything wrong with the meal. What our evaluation of the meal really indicated was that while we appreciated Japanese simplicity, as mere acolytes (if that) in Japanese culture and aesthetics, our appreciation only went so deep.
Temples, tea, and tofu. It's a little hard to describe how calm and peaceful that day was, but upon reflection, it really embodied what the Japanese call "wa" (和), which means harmony/peace/balance. Our Saturday in Kyoto was complete.
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