5/11/24: Kyoto's Textiles, a Castle, Glorious Temples, & the Philosopher's Path!

It was so incongruous seeing oodles of barbers' poles all over Kyoto as Steven and I'd never seen them before outside of Canada and the US!

A long bus ride north brought us to Kyoto's Nishijin Textile Center where woven fabrics could trace their history back to the city's earliest days. About 500 years ago, Kyoto was caught up in the violent Onin Wars that lasted eleven years. When the fighting erupted, the craftsmen who wove richly decorative fabrics made into clothing worn by the Imperial Family, Shinto priests, and Buddhist monks fled the city. They returned to present-day Kyoto when the war ended between the East and West opposing armies and settled into the area where the commander Yamena Sozen had placed his western (nishi) camp (nin), thus weaving history into the fabric known worldwide as Nishijin. The center was located on the exact spot where merchants used to assemble to bid for textiles sold at auction. 

Nishijin weaving is characterized by dyeing the threads before weaving them together into decorative designs. Fifteen to twenty processes are required to complete a fabric. 

Nishijin-woven fabrics have played a large role in Japan's history. During the 1603-1867 Edo Period, there were an estimated 7,000 looms packed into the 170 blocks that made up the Nishijin District. It was dealt a massive blow when the capital was moved in 1868 at the beginning of the Meiji Restoration to Tokyo, meaning the Eastern Capital. That time also coincided with people's tastes changing from wearing kimonos to Western attire. Nishijin designers traveled to Europe to study and bring home Jacquard weaving techniques using perforated punch cards like the one below. That helped significantly in a rapid economic recovery. Except for the period during WW II, Nishijin made a series of technical and artistic changes which enhanced its quality and fame. It remains one of Japan's largest districts for handweaving.

I was excited to see the center's large collection of furoshiki for sale. They're large pieces of cloth traditionally used to wrap goods and gifts as well as transport clothes. The furoshiki were replaced by easy-to-use paper and plastic bags but they have had a resurgence in popularity to save the environment. Some people use them as placemats or wine bottle covers, to cover small tables, or framing and hanging on a wall. Their uses are only limited by one's imagination!

They and many other items in the shop certainly captured my attention and pocketbook!

The tour book we used for Japan made the center sound far more exciting than it was with supposed displays of silkworms and how they produced silk, old Nishijin fabrics, kimono fashion shows held six times daily, the chance to weave my own table mat or scarf, being able to dress up as a maiko or apprentice geisha, etc. Even though the center's brochure contained photos of the various experiences and artisan demonstrations, unfortunately none were available any longer so I had to content myself with browsing in the lovely shop - oh damn!

Nijo-jo Castle, ShogunTokugawa Ieyasu's Kyoto home, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was our next stop in the city. It was completed in 1603 almost entirely of Japanese cypress and delicate transom woodcarvings and paintings on the sliding doors. 

Higashi Ote-mon or East Gate likely dated to 1662 and was built as a two-story gate but it was changed to a one-story gate for a visit by the Emperor in 1626 so that no one could look down on him from above, a longstanding taboo in Japan.

Tonan Sumi-yagura was one of the four watchtowers built at the outer corners of the castle's moat as lookouts and were normally used as armories. Only two of the watchtowers survived the fire of 1768.

The interior courtyard that led to the next gate was enormous.

At the entrance to the Ninimaru-goten Palace was the Kara-mon Gate, which represented the highest gate architecture status by the cusped gable at the front and back of the roof and the use of cypress bark and not tile or copper for the roofing. The gate had magnificently colored carvings of cranes, bamboo, and plum blossoms, representing longevity. At the front, carved lions protected the Palace.

Ninimaru-goten Palace consisted of 33 rooms and over 800 tatami mats spread over six connected buildings! Considering the expense of its construction, it was amazing to learn that no shogun visited the castle between the third Tokugawa shogun in 1634 and the 15th and last Tokugawa Shogun announced the restoration of imperial rule in 1867.

The shogun was protected from real or imagined enemies by a moat, stone walls, and also its nightingale floors in the castle corridors, one of the castle's most intriguing features. These special floorboards sounded like chirping birds when trod upon! The safety feature was augmented by hidden alcoves by bodyguards and the fact that only female attendants were permitted to be in the shogun's private living quarters. 

As fanciful as the story about the nightingale floors might be, I read the floors' sound wasn't, in fact, intentional but stemmed from the movement of nails against clamps in the floorboards caused by wear and tear over the years.

The paintings of the Tozamurai Tigers were based on imported tiger hides and on artists' sketches from Chinese paintings since there were no tigers in Japan. The tiger paintings in the palace ranged from being faithful to the sketches to very bold interpretations that reflected the artists' creativity! One example is a painting that appeared to be of a mother tigress posed as if she were nursing her cubs. However, one of the three cubs is a leopard based on the ancient Chinese tradition that one of every three cubs born to a tiger would be a leopard as they were thought to belong to the same species as tigers!

The Shikidai was the connecting section between the reception area and the formal audience chambers. It was there that castle visitors presented gifts for the Shogun and where any business with the shogun was first presented. The pine tree images were used because they were green yearlong and therefore symbolized the Shogun's prosperity, longevity, and permanence. These paintings of the massive pine trees with boughs also continued to spread above the horizontal beams in the walls up to the ceiling.

As dreamy as the tigers and pine boughs were, I also loved the delightful images on the corridors' ceilings.

The main section of the Ohiroma or Great Hall housed the official audience rooms where the Shogun met with his feudal lords and the Imperial Court nobility. It was in this room that Tokugawa Ieyasu is thought to have met with the feudal lords and court nobles in 1603 after he received his Shogun appointment. The last Shogun also announced in this room that he was handing political authority back to the Imperial Court in 1867. That meant both the birth and death of the Edo Period and the Tokugawa Shogunate took place in this room.

The figure at the head of the hall represented the Shogun receiving his guests at an elevated position.

The Kuro-shoin or Smaller Great Hall was used for official functions when the Shogun met with high-ranking court nobles. It was also called the Cherry Blossom Room because of its beautiful murals in full bloom. Again, the floor was elevated for the Shogun.

The drawings in the Sitting Room and sleeping quarters were much simpler.

The Botan-no-ma or Peony Room consisted of paintings of peonies, known as the King of Flowers, in full bloom. One of my favorite flowers, peonies has been a popular motif in paintings and works of art since ancient times. 

Another corridor where our eyes were drawn to the ceiling and its exquisite decoration!

Another part of the Ohiroma Yon-no-ma was where weapons were displayed when the Shogun was in residence. The painting of the hawk on a large pine tree is the most famous of the over 3,600 wall paintings inside the palace.

The transom or ornamentation used between rooms above the doorway was carved from a wooden board 35cm thick. The front of the transom was intentionally decorated with peonies and Japanese larch so it would have been the side viewed by the Shogun and those sitting in the higher-staus room. Just imagine how the transoms' originally, vividly painted carvings would have looked so long ago and would have rivaled the murals!

Murals in the Senior Counselors' Rooms, the waiting room for counselors:

The Imperial Messengers' Room was important in the palace as it was where the Shogun met with members of the Imperial Court. Here, by contrast to the preceding rooms, the Shogun sat below the messengers.

Outside in the blazing sun, we viewed one of the Hanging Bells used to warn the people of fires and other emergencies.

Adjoining the palace was the Ninomaru Garden which was redesigned for the Emperor's Imperial Visit in 1626. The pond had a large Hora-jima Island symbolizing paradise flanked by both a crane and turtle island, each a metaphor for longevity.

Students were taking refuge in the palace's shade while depicting the garden.

A stroll across the Honmaru East Bridge led to the Homaru-goten Palace and garden of the same name.

The garden was created on the occasion of a visit by Emperor Meiji, 1855-1912, and was later redesigned.

I think we were both thankful Honmaru Palace was closed after just touring the large Ninomaru-goten Palace! It was relocated here inside the inner moat of Nijo-jo Castle in 1893. 

Us standing by the base of what had been a five-story keep tower with six floors inside that was moved here in 1863 from a castle in southern Kyoto:

A plum orchard concluded our visit to Nijo-ji Castle.

We encountered more of Kyoto's many "no" signs on the way to Kyoto's subway and a visit to Nanzen-ji Temple!

It was a delightful walk in a residential neighborhood and far away from the hubbub of hectic downtown Kyoto to reach the temple.

Nanzen-ji, the head temple of the Nanen-ji School of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, dates to 1291 when it was founded by Emperor Kameyama who was deeply devoted to a Zen Master. The temple is so highly regarded that it is held above the Gozan, the five most prestigious Zen temples in Kyoto established in the Middle Ages. Zen's most outstanding monks at the time resided at Nanzen-ji as successive abbots which resulted in the temple flourishing as the center of Gozan literature.

Update on 7/8/24: The Hojo was the temple's main hall and the former head priest's residence. 

As we'd experienced before we didn't know what we were seeing and appreciating at the temple as all the signs were sadly in Japanese.

Update on 7/8/24: Outside the Hojo was a rather odd sight, a large brick aqueduct that passed through the temple grounds. Built during the Meiji Period, 1868-1912, the aqueduct was part of a canal system constructed to carry water and goods between Kyoto and Lake Biwa in neighboring Shiga Prefecture.

Lucky us as we were treated to the sight of another dry landscape garden and even more unforgettable murals!

Innumerable walkways connected to lots of other buildings and more raked sand gardens - an oasis of peace and serenity. Bags were provided for us to carry our shoes throughout the temple interior but there was no garbage can to dispose of the bags, perhaps to recycle and reuse?

A tearoom overlooked a waterfall.

Next to Nanzen-ji was Eikan-do Temple also known as Zenrin-ji Temple, built after the original temple from 866 was destroyed in the 15th century. Visitors come to see the image of the Amida Buddha statue which represents the time when Eikan paused praying and the Buddha encouraged him to continue. Steven and I didn't see the Buddha statue because we were running short of time and still had other places that day we wanted to see more.

The first was a leisurely walk on the Philosopher's Path along a canal in the lush foothills of Kyoto's Eastern Mountains. The path's south end which began at Eikan-do garnered its name after its counterpart in Heidelberg, Germany. It became associated with the legacy of Kitaro Nishida, 1870-1945, a famous philosopher who walked the path daily.

Off to our left was Koun-ji Temple but we kept plowing straight ahead.

The entrance to Otoyo Jinja, an ancient Shinto shrine that served as the guardian of the people living nearby:

All our cares were forgotten about on the magical Philosopher's Path.

There were a few homes along the path as we headed north with one more goal in mind!

The tiny, bibbed statues were of Ebisu, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune I wrote about in the previous post.

At the end of the path, shops, vendors, and restaurants lined a narrow street which could only mean we were coming upon another temple! Yes indeed, up ahead was Ginkaku-ju, or the Silver Pavilion, our last goal for the day.

Many "no" signs once again welcomed us to the temple!

Although Ginkaku-ji was described as once being the "aesthetic and cultural center of the nation," the complex was ravaged by fires over the years leaving only two original buildings. It was built in 1492 as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa who planned to coat the temple in silver in imitation of the Golden Pavilion (a treat for another day) built by his grandfather. He died, though, before his vision was realized so the Silver Pavilion is not silver at all but a simple, two-story wood structure enshrining the goddess of mercy and Jizo, the guardian deity of children.

The mound of sand was shaped to resemble Mount Fuji.

We both marveled at the temple's sand gardens, some of which were far deeper than we'd seen elsewhere. A sign instructed people not to disturb the sand layer raked in the shape of waves, created to enhance views during a full moon.

As we wandered the grounds and climbed the hillside path, we could imagine the splendor and grandeur of Japan's upper class. I hope you, too, get that sense from these photos.

After climbing to the lookout point, we had splendid views of Kyoto's eastern skyline. 

Without a doubt, Ginkakuji's magic was its garden and not its temple.

The wood shingle roof on the so-called Silver Pavilion was made from Japanese cypress adhered with bamboo nails.

As you might imagine, we were plenty tired after walking many, many miles that day and thoroughly enjoyed our walk back along the Philosopher's Path and especially dinner at the open-air Philly Cheese Steaks Restaurant I'd spotted on the way to the temple. We've munched on cheesesteaks in the City of Brotherly Love and these ones would make Philadelphians proud! Steven also delighted in his Asahi beer that you may remember from our time in Tokyo at the beginning of this trip.

Since we'd passed Yasaka Shrine twice daily going and coming to our apartment in the Gion District, we figured we might as well stop in for a few minutes after being so well fortified.

Also known as Gion Shrine because of its location, the gaily painted red shrine was founded over 1,350 years ago and is one of the most famous shrines in Kyoto which says a lot, considering the huge number in the city. Lion statues and guardians behind enclosures protected the shrine.

I'll let the pictures do the talking here.

Next post: A rainy day in Kyoto's Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and, quite possibly, a couple more temples!

Posted late on July 5th, 2024, at our home after hearing lots of fireworks last night to celebrate Independence Day much to the dismay of both vets and pets. I hope you and your loved ones are taking pleasure in restful summertime activities.