Day Five - Kyoto.
Jul. 25th, 2009 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19I was up early in the morning (what else is new) to prep for my rail trip to Kyoto. I took care of my internet stuff (like weather forecasts), and then finished packing and beat a path for the shinkansen lines at Tokyo Station. I arrived in time to take the 8:33 HIKARI Super-Express (as it is proclaimed in English) and arrived at Kyoto Station at about 11:15am. Despite my best efforts, I could not convince anyone to give me a portable map of the city rail systems. I'm not sure what that was about.
I made my way to the hostel with little difficulty and dumped my bags. (Kyoto is a grid city, and even though the streets aren't any better posted here than they are in Tokyo it's still really hard to get lost on a grid.) After I was free of the ginormous backpack, I went on a short walking tour of the surrounding area - specifically the temples Nishi Honganji and Higashi Honganji. Given that Nishi Honganji is slightly older, I visited that one first.
It began to rain fairly steadily as I arrived at the main gate, so I wandered into an enclosed seating space where there were teas and vending machines and bathrooms for the visitors. I politely asked the caretaker there if it was alright to eat a box lunch, and he gave me the go ahead so I sat myself down and had a really delicious lunch of the sushi that Eunja's friend Megumi had given me the night before. It. Was. So. Good. (Even a day later.)
Belly full and refreshed, I began walking the grounds. I went first to the hondo (main hall) and adjoining daishido (great master's hall). The painted carvings and smooth, strong doors, walls, and pillars were all very, very wonderful. The steadily falling rain gave a sense of enveloping quietude and peace. (The rains have actually been extremely problematic here of late.)
As I was sitting in the hondo, Tenjin-sama welcomed me to his city with a resounding crash of thunder that shook the timber-framed hall to its foundations. I couldn't help but feel as if I were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Shortly thereafter, the temple priests performed an afternoon ritual for gathered believers and I sat in on that as well, although it must be admitted that my legs didn't hold out. When the ritual began I was seated in the Japanese fashion, but about a minute before it ended I had to shift my weight. I am getting more acclimated to it, though.
I walked through the open areas of the grounds, spending a particular amount of time by the Karamon, a Chinese-style gate that has been designated a National Treasure for its elaborate and beautifully painted carvings. I took many pictures of the Karamon in order to compare it with the Karamon of Kitano Tenmangu, which was built around the same time. Then I walked back to the exit and made my way over to Higashi Honganji.
Higashi Honganji was far, far more crowded with visitors, and I - frankly - had a really hard time figuring out why. It was neither as beautiful, nor (at this particular moment) as accessible as Nishi Honganji. And they prohibited photographing in all indoor spaces, which made me all pouty.
It would actually probably have been impossible for me to like Higashi Honganji more than Nishi Honganji. Originally, there was only one Honganji - the one now known as Nishi (West) Honganji. It was built on the current site through a land grant from Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1591. Some ten years later, in 1602, the second site of Higashi (East) Honganji was established by a breakaway sect through the influence of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. Supposedly, he did this to break the power of the Jodo Shinshu Sect, but I suspect that a desire to trump the Toyotomi family also factored into his decision as well.
The upshot of all this is that Nishi Honganji is the underdog temple, and we all know how I love an underdog. (And also... for some reason, I find Tokugawa Ieyasu rather dissatisfying as the founder of a dynasty. I don't completely approve of him, really.)
At any rate, I did quite like Higashi Honganji's tagline for the celebration of the 750th death anniversary of Shinran (the founder of the Jodo Shinshu Sect): Ima, inochi ga anata wo ikiteiru. "Right now, life is living you."
It was nearly time for check-in, so I walked the streets until I found a conbi to stock up in. I picked up some things for dinner and a snack and then made my way back to the hostel. I got checked in, made my bed and put my things away, discovered the joys of wifi, and have been since sitting in the common room - having on-and-off conversations with the other guests. There's a girl from France, from England, and from Germany. They all, of course, speak English. The English girl also speaks French, and part of the early conversation was in French. Since I understand French (although I really can't speak it anymore), and I can report that the French girl also speaks Japanese and Chinese.
Wow, do I feel outclassed.
Lots to do on the morrow, so it's planning and an early night for me.
I made my way to the hostel with little difficulty and dumped my bags. (Kyoto is a grid city, and even though the streets aren't any better posted here than they are in Tokyo it's still really hard to get lost on a grid.) After I was free of the ginormous backpack, I went on a short walking tour of the surrounding area - specifically the temples Nishi Honganji and Higashi Honganji. Given that Nishi Honganji is slightly older, I visited that one first.
It began to rain fairly steadily as I arrived at the main gate, so I wandered into an enclosed seating space where there were teas and vending machines and bathrooms for the visitors. I politely asked the caretaker there if it was alright to eat a box lunch, and he gave me the go ahead so I sat myself down and had a really delicious lunch of the sushi that Eunja's friend Megumi had given me the night before. It. Was. So. Good. (Even a day later.)
Belly full and refreshed, I began walking the grounds. I went first to the hondo (main hall) and adjoining daishido (great master's hall). The painted carvings and smooth, strong doors, walls, and pillars were all very, very wonderful. The steadily falling rain gave a sense of enveloping quietude and peace. (The rains have actually been extremely problematic here of late.)
As I was sitting in the hondo, Tenjin-sama welcomed me to his city with a resounding crash of thunder that shook the timber-framed hall to its foundations. I couldn't help but feel as if I were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Shortly thereafter, the temple priests performed an afternoon ritual for gathered believers and I sat in on that as well, although it must be admitted that my legs didn't hold out. When the ritual began I was seated in the Japanese fashion, but about a minute before it ended I had to shift my weight. I am getting more acclimated to it, though.
I walked through the open areas of the grounds, spending a particular amount of time by the Karamon, a Chinese-style gate that has been designated a National Treasure for its elaborate and beautifully painted carvings. I took many pictures of the Karamon in order to compare it with the Karamon of Kitano Tenmangu, which was built around the same time. Then I walked back to the exit and made my way over to Higashi Honganji.
Higashi Honganji was far, far more crowded with visitors, and I - frankly - had a really hard time figuring out why. It was neither as beautiful, nor (at this particular moment) as accessible as Nishi Honganji. And they prohibited photographing in all indoor spaces, which made me all pouty.
It would actually probably have been impossible for me to like Higashi Honganji more than Nishi Honganji. Originally, there was only one Honganji - the one now known as Nishi (West) Honganji. It was built on the current site through a land grant from Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1591. Some ten years later, in 1602, the second site of Higashi (East) Honganji was established by a breakaway sect through the influence of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. Supposedly, he did this to break the power of the Jodo Shinshu Sect, but I suspect that a desire to trump the Toyotomi family also factored into his decision as well.
The upshot of all this is that Nishi Honganji is the underdog temple, and we all know how I love an underdog. (And also... for some reason, I find Tokugawa Ieyasu rather dissatisfying as the founder of a dynasty. I don't completely approve of him, really.)
At any rate, I did quite like Higashi Honganji's tagline for the celebration of the 750th death anniversary of Shinran (the founder of the Jodo Shinshu Sect): Ima, inochi ga anata wo ikiteiru. "Right now, life is living you."
It was nearly time for check-in, so I walked the streets until I found a conbi to stock up in. I picked up some things for dinner and a snack and then made my way back to the hostel. I got checked in, made my bed and put my things away, discovered the joys of wifi, and have been since sitting in the common room - having on-and-off conversations with the other guests. There's a girl from France, from England, and from Germany. They all, of course, speak English. The English girl also speaks French, and part of the early conversation was in French. Since I understand French (although I really can't speak it anymore), and I can report that the French girl also speaks Japanese and Chinese.
Wow, do I feel outclassed.
Lots to do on the morrow, so it's planning and an early night for me.
