👣KYŌTO'S BLOOD CEILINGS🩸
The rear portion of the ceiling in Genkō-an's (源光庵) main hall is stained with what at first glance looks like water damage...
...but soon a footprint emerges on the rust coloured wood, the shape of a doll, shadowy fingertips, the fold of a kimono!
Circles play an important role in zen thought😑
Without corners there is no end and no beginning, just an uninterrupted and continuous journey.
'Ensō' (円相), a circle painted with a single stroke, symbolizes absolute enlightenment, freedom of the mind, elegance, and the universe.
⏹️The square window (a rectangle in the warmer months) is called 'mayoi-no-mado' (迷いの窓), 'the inability to reach enlightenment window'.
The square's 4 corners show us 4 human inflictions: 生 老 病 死 (birth, old age, sickness and death).
😵💫⏹️WINDOW TO THE SOUL⏺️😇
Visitors to Genkō-an (源光庵) are presented with a riddle when they settle in the main hall...a question built into the architecture of the the temple.
What does the world look like to one who is enlightened?🤔
Two windows hold the key.
#Kyoto #京都 #Genkoan #源光庵 #zen #enlightenment #Takagamine #鷹峯
In total it's said that only 10 soldiers from Mototada’s regiment survived the siege. We often remember the 380 men involved in the final stand at the castle's palatial residence, but should not forget there were an additional 1,600 men slaughtered that day.
It was some time before the bodies were cleared. By then the blood and gore were deep stains in the wood.
👣KYŌTO'S BLOOD CEILINGS🩸
The rear portion of the ceiling in Genkō-an's (源光庵) main hall is stained with what at first glance looks like water damage...but soon a footprint appears on the rust-coloured wood, the shape of a doll, shadowy fingertips, the fold of a kimono!
Genkō-an is 1 of 8 temples that claim to have received bloody floorboards from Momoyama Castle (伏見城/aka 桃山城), some time after the Siege of Fushimi in 1600.
Camellia Tea Ceremony