Kyoto bus station, 5.59am. Missing the guidebook that I left in Narita airport quite a bit right now.Info centres aren’t open for another 2.5 hours, and in fact, nothing is open until then. Thirsty and sleep deprived, we walked around in a bit of a trance but finally sorted ourselves out and happened upon the most surprisingly beautiful day. We soon found ourselves at Higashi Hongan-Ji, a huge wooden temple for Pure Land Buddhists and having taken a moment of contemplation within, sat on the great steps underneath the gargantuan wooden pillars in the rising heat dappled with a light breeze and made a plan for the day that seemed as relaxed and calming as the Koi Carp we’d just been watching beneath the surface of the lily-topped pond – just what we needed to re-earth ourselves.
Next we found an Imperial Palace Park and a stroll in the sunshine before heading to Heian Jingu Shinto shrine and walked in the grounds as saw where a part of Memoirs of a Geisha was filmed, Sanjusangen-do temple where 1001 Kannon statues stand in gold and then up to the hills to end the day at a place I will never forget. Kiyomizu-Dera was such an uplifting place to be, those glorious structures rising into the hills and so many people like ants, climbing the steps to share in these incredible buildings that feel grounded despite being up on metres of stilts on one side.
I usually don’t like places that have crowds (yeah, Gion Matsuri, good choice there) but I now wonder at people who want to see the wonders of the world but want it for themselves only. Humankind made this place, had the powerful notion of building it there in the first place, fitted it into the environment, cared for it, and now we want to see it deserted, alone, but not alone – with us there to see it, take pictures, have someone explain it to us…I loved it there today because so many people wanted to spend their time exploring it, praying there, drinking the holy water, taking time to look out over Kyoto city from above…the people are part of it, and I didn’t mind being one of hundreds there today, it made sense. Although I’m not sure I thought the same thing on the subway home…so many people in Kyoto, but I’m one of them, and I feel so lucky to be here.
A quick note about our wonderful host, Masumi – she is a dear friend of PJ Hirabayashi, and kindly agreed to take us in and show us around her town, and I had some very interesting talks with her about the role of women in taiko..read my Churchill Report for more on that!
The next day started with a family walk out to Nijo Castle, a place for the Shogun to stay in Kyoto…a vast and beautiful building that told stories of life long ago here. The levels of ritual and protection that needed to be in place, the paintings on the walls and screens, elaborate carvings and my favourite of all, the nightingale floor, the intricate design that made the floor sing (or squeak) was the most effective and beautiful security system I have come across. The gardens were stunning as we appreciated them very slowly in the hot and humid climate with very little breeze…we were glad to get back underground out of the sun on our way to Fushimi-Inari, a temple that I had wanted to go to from the moment I saw a picture of it. We walked up the hillside under the shadow of the red gates until we found a beautiful spot to sit and rest, to take in the view of where we were, only to walk down again into the heat and heart of Kyoto…we met Masumi for our evening experience of Gion Matsuri.
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