1) Honpō-ji (本法寺)🥘🌸
Founded by Nisshin (日親) in 1436, over the years the temple would clash many times with the authorities. More than a little outspoken, Nisshin eventually found himself punished by the shōgun in a cruel and most unusual way....by having a heated pot melded to his head!
2) Shinshōgokuraku-ji (真正極楽寺)👭🌸
At a time when many temples, and even whole mountains, were off limits to women, Shinshōgokuraku-ji (aka Shinnyo-dō 真如堂) offered them a refuge.
Special services were held for women, aiding them to rebirth.
3) Ryōan-ji (竜安寺)🪨🌸
Just across the road from our teahouse (and office) is Japan's most famous zen garden...a riddle written in gravel and rocks.
Intended to focus the mind, over the years many have tried to unravel the garden's meaning.
4) Tō-ji (東寺)📿🌸
As old as Kyōto, Tō-ji ('East Temple') sits in the same place it has occupied for 1200 years, though its grounds have been vastly reduced.
Originally called Kyō-ō-Gokoku-ji (教王護国寺), the temple acted as guardian of the new capital (Heian-kyō 平安京).
5) Taizō-in (退蔵院)🐟🌸
Taizō-in is the oldest of Myōshin-ji's sub-temples.
During the spring its great weeping cherry, reaching over the 'Inyō-no-niwa' (陰陽の庭 'Garden of Yin & Yang'), acts like a giant pink parasol...falling petals adding colour to the raked gravel.
6) The Incline🛤️🌸
Keage (蹴上 lit. 'rise' or 'riser') is one of the most popular places to see cherry blossoms in Kyōto. It was here that boats were carried a short distance by rail down a steep incline from the Lake Biwa Canal (琵琶湖疏水) into the city's canal network.
7) Okazaki Canal🛥️🌸
During spring traditional flat-bottomed boats called Jukkoku-bune (十石舟) ply the waters of the Okazaki Canal.
400 cherry trees line the one and a half km stretch of waterway between the Lake Biwako Canal Museum (琵琶湖疎水記念館) and Ebisu-gawa Dam (夷川ダム).
8) Fushimi Castle (伏見城)🏯🌸
Fushimi-jō (伏見城), known also as Momoyama Castle (桃山城), was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi between 1592-94 as his retirement base.
Stripped and dismantled by the Tokugawa from 1623, a replica (now closed) was built in 1964 as part of "Castle Land".
9) The Weeping Cherry (枝垂れ桜)🏞️🏮
Maruyama-kōen's (円山公園) famous 70-year old shidare-zakura (枝垂桜 'weeping cherry') is one of the city's most recognizable trees.
The original tree was 200 years old when it withered in 1947. In 1949 Sano Tōemon (佐野藤右衛門) planted the tree we see today.
wabisabi
Camellia Tea Ceremony
Aoi