Heian | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 4 (4/6): KOFUKUJI (興福寺), Nara (奈良), Japan, 2016.12.06

Visiting Nara and Kyoto in Japan, where historical temples and old timber houses mushroomed across the landscape and lined along the alleyways of the ancient capitals, is a close encounter with what we consider as the heritage of Japan. A brief visit to Kofukuji on our way out of Nara Park provided a proper closure to a fruitful day of cultural heritage when we had already seen Horyuji, Todaiji and Kasuga Taisha. A prominent representation of the Nara Period (AD 710-794), the Buddhist temple had seen better days in history, primarily during Nara Period and Heian Period (AD 794 – 1185), when Kofukuji and Kasuga Taisha controlled much of the politics and religion of the kingdom. Since, Kofukuji had gone through a gradual decline. The anti-Buddhist policies of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) gave the temple its final blow, when Kofukuji was forced to be separated from Kasuga Taisha, such that Shintoism could be separated from Buddhism.

Kofukuji is the headquarters of the Hosso sect of Buddhism in Japan. Hosso, known as Yogachara in Indian Buddhism, is the school of Buddhism focused on meditative and yogic practice and believed that human experience is primarily constructed by the power of the mind. This school of philosophy was founded by the famous Chinese monk and traveler Xuanzang (玄奘), who visited India in the 7th century for Buddhist teachings and scriptures. Some of Xuanzang’s pupils were later responsible to bring the teachings of Buddhism to Korea and Japan. As the headquarters of Hosso, Kofukuji was once a large temple complex comprised of 175 buildings. Today, only a few of the original architecture remained. While we were there, the Central Golden Hall was under renovation and covered with scaffolding. We could still, however, admired the ancient architecture of Kofukuji Temple, including the Octagonal Halls, Eastern Golden Hall and the iconic Five-storey Pagoda.

We passed by the iconic Five-storey Pagoda (五重塔) on our way out of the Nara Park.

At 50m, Kofukuji’s Five-storey Pagoda (五重塔) is Japan’s second tallest, and an iconic symbol of the city of Nara.

The beautiful Eastern Golden Hall (東金堂) houses a large wooden statue of Yakushi Buddha.

Overview of the Eastern Golden Hall and Five-storey Pagoda.

Founded in AD 813 and reconstructed in 1789, the Nanendo (南円堂, Southern Octagonal Hall) is another beautiful piece of architecture.

List of donor’s names near the Nanendo (South Octagonal Hall)

The stair down to Sanjo Dori Street was lined with donor’s flags.

A path off the stair led us to a platform where a cluster of small Buddhist shrines stood under a few maple trees.

A beautiful statue stood out from the cluster of shrines.

Reconstructed in AD 1181, the Three-storey Pagoda (三重の塔) is one of the two oldest surviving buildings at the temple complex.

The Nanendo viewed from the Three-storey Pagoda.

Nakatanidou (中谷堂) at Sanjo Dori near Kofukuji is famous for its traditional fast mochi (Japanese rice cakes) pounding known as mochitsuki.

Yomogi mochi at Nakatanidou (中谷堂) are made with a wild Japanese plant called mugwort. These rice cakes were really tasty.

After a long day of temple hoping, we stopped by the relaxing Mellow Cafe for a quick bite. The cafe is famous for its stone pizza oven. We ordered a pizza with top with cheese and Japanese pickles.

And washed the pizza down with a glass of local beer…

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February 26, 2017 | Categories: Japan, Japan: Kyoto and Nara 2016, Kyoto and Nara | Tags: Architecture, beer, Buddhism, Buddhist, 興福寺, Heian, heritage, Hosso, Japan, Kofukuji, Mellow Cafe, mochi, mochitsuki, Nakatanidou, Nanendo, Nara, octagonal, pagoda, pizza, Temple, UNESCO, 奈良, 東金堂, 五重塔 | Leave a comment

DAY 4 (1/6): HORYUJI (法隆寺), Nara (奈良), Japan, 2016.12.06

Our day excursion to Nara (奈良) started before dawn. We get up at 5am in the morning, and took a 6:15am Nara-bound JR train from Kyoto Station. Our plan was to make a transfer from Nara JR Station to Horyuji Station (法隆寺駅) and visit Horyuji Temple (法隆寺) in suburban Nara, then returned to Central Nara and spent the rest of the day to check out the Nara Park attractions including Todaiji and Kasuga Taisha.

Founded in AD 607 during the Asuka Period (飛鳥時代), Horyuji (法隆寺) is one of the oldest temples in Japan. In this UNESCO World Heritage site, the Five-storey Pagoda is widely believed to be the oldest timber structure in the world. The architecture itself was largely influenced by the styles of Korea and China. The large temple ground is divided into two main precincts, the Western Precinct (西院伽藍) where the ancient pagoda and Kondo (金堂, Sanctuary Hall) are located, and at 122m further east the Eastern Precinct (東院伽藍), where the octagonal Yumedono (夢殿, Hall of Visions) is situated.

From Horyuji Station, it was a 20 minute walk via an ordinary suburban road to the Horyuji Temple. The setting changed dramatically as we turned into the tree-lined approach route in front of the temple entrance.

As we approached the entrance, the staff were sweeping the forecourt of Nandaimon (南大門, South Gate) under the yellow morning sun.

After Nandaimon, the stone path led us towards the Chumon (中門, Middle Gate), which was unfortunately covered with scaffolding.

On our approach to the Chumon (中門, Middle Gate) we passed by the peaceful stone route leading towards the Todaimon (東大門, East Gate).

Beyond the scaffolding of Chumon (中門, Middle Gate) we entered the temple courtyard and the magnificent timber colonnade surrounding the yard.

The beautiful timber Cloister (回廊) was constructed in the Nara Period (AD710 – 794). It was relaxing and peaceful to walk along these ancient timber columns.

The 32m Five-Storey Pagoda is one of the oldest timber buildings in the world. Tree ring dating suggested the central pillar was fell in AD 594. Despite named as Five-Storey Pagoda, there is actually only one usable level (the bottom level). The upper levels were inaccessible.

The 7th century Kondo (金堂) is another one of the oldest wooden architecture in the world. The building houses a number of precious Buddhist statues and murals. Unfortunately much of the original murals were destroyed by fire in 1949. The murals in the today’s Kondo are reproductions from 1967.

The dragon ornament at the upper section of the Kondo is a magnificent piece of handcraft.

The Kondo (left), Five Storey Pagoda (right), and Chumon (centre with scaffolding) are three of the oldest buildings in the compound built in Asuka Period (飛鳥時代).

We walked to the back of the Kondo and Five-Storey Pagoda to reach the Daikodo (大講堂, Lecture Hall).

Built in AD920 during the Heian Period (平安時代), the Daikodo houses the Yakushi Trinity in gilt wood.

After some time wandering in the cloister of Western Precinct, a large group of school students showed up.

Eastern Chambers (東室) from the Nara Period (奈良時代) was the former residences for monks.

Walking through the Todaimon (東大門, East Gate), we left the Western Precinct (西院伽藍) for the Eastern Precinct (東院伽藍).

Entering the Eastern Precinct (東院伽藍), the East Court Bell Tower (東院鐘楼) stood prominently for the past 800 years since the Kamakura period (鎌倉時代, 1192 – 1333).

In the Eastern Precinct (東院伽藍), the most impressive building is the octagonal Yumedono (夢殿, Hall of visions). It houses some important statues as well as monk’s seating for prayers.

Beautiful timber corner detail of Yumedono (夢殿, Hall of visions).

The Yumedono is surrounded by another peaceful timber cloister and atmospheric trees.

We headed back to the Western Precinct (西院伽藍), and passed by a number of vivid maples on the way.

Also octagonal, the Saiendou (西円堂, West Round Hall) stands atop a hill at the northwest corner of the temple compound.

Sandwiched between the cloister of the Western Precinct and hill of Saiendou stands the impressive Sangyoin (三経院).

Despite the architectural beauty from the Kamakura period (鎌倉時代, 1185 – 1333), our focus was shifted to the two cute cats sitting right by the entrance stair.

The two cats often interacted with each other.

After a thorough visit of the temple compound, we were ready to walk through the Nandaimon (南大門, South Gate) once again and found our way back to the local train station.

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February 17, 2017 | Categories: Japan, Japan: Kyoto and Nara 2016, Kyoto and Nara | Tags: Architecture, Asuka, Buddhist, Chumon, 金堂, 飛鳥時代, 西院伽藍, Five Storey Pagoda, Heian, Horyuji, Japan, Japanese, Kondo, Kyoto, Nara, Temple, Todaimon, 回廊, 大講堂, 奈良, 平安時代, 東院伽藍, 法隆寺, 法隆寺駅, 中門 | Leave a comment

DAY 1 (3/6): NINNAJI TEMPLE (仁和寺), Kyoto (京都), Japan, 2016.12.03

Some bloggers mention Ninnaji Temple (仁和寺) is their favorite temple in Kyoto. It is not a small feat for any Kyoto temple to become someone’s favorite given the city has over 1600 temples. We had high expectations for Ninnaji before the trip and was delighted to check out this head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingong Sect of Buddhism on our first day. Following street signage, it was an easy 15-minute walk from Ryoanji to Ninnaji. The air was cool and refreshing in the northwestern foothills of Kyoto. The occasional vivid autumn leaves along the way made our walk even more pleasant. Founded in AD 888 by Emperor Uda, Ninnaji Temple maintained its close connection with the imperial family until Meji Restoration in the 19th century. For a thousand years the temple’s abbot had always been served by someone in the imperial family . Today most surviving buildings date back to the 17th century.

Ninnaji Temple is consisted of two main parts: Garan (伽藍) and Goren (御殿). The monumental main gate Nio-mon Gate (二王門) is one of the three famous gates in Kyoto, representing the magnificent timber skills and sense of beauty of ancient craftsmen. We started our visit at the Goren (御殿) just behind the ticket office. After taking off our shoes, we entered the Goren through a zigzag covered walkway, which ended at a peaceful dry zen garden known as the Dantei (南庭), or the South Garden. The pebbles and sand were arranged in rows across a large area, with the beautiful Chokushi-mon Gate (勅使門) and the Nio-mon Gate as prominent visual focuses in the background. The tranquil atmosphere of Dantei prompted us to stay for a short while to enjoy the pleasant moment. Following the covered verandas, we walked around Dantei to admire the traditional wall paintings inside prayer rooms along the way. The paintings on the golden walls in the Shinden (宸殿), the main hall, revealed an imperial touch in the design as if the interior of an imperial palace. After another turn we reached a completely different garden, the Hokutei (北庭), the North Garden. The main focus of Hokutei was a serene reflecting pool, reflecting the autumn foliage and the Five-Storey Pagoda in the Garan further in the background. Just a few minutes before we were admiring the abstract dry landscape of Dantei, where sand and pebbles metaphorize the sea, rocks as islands and trees as forests. A few minutes later we had entered a lush world of greenery and water in the Hokutei.

After the Goren, we walked over to Chu-mon Gate (中門) into the much larger Garan (伽藍). The entire Goren area was like a park, with several buildings scattered over in the area. We first headed over to the Gojunoto (五重塔), or the Five-storey Pagoda, an elegant tower visible from many places in Ninnaji. Behind the pagoda, we arrived at Kusho Myojin Shrine (九所明神), a peaceful Shinto shrine under the shade of trees. After clapping, praying and bowing in front of the shrine, we continued to wander around Garan. Next came Kyozo Sutra Hall (経蔵), a squarish timber building used to store the Buddhist scriptures. Back to the central area, we reached the largest building in Garan, the Kondo (金堂), or the Golden Hall, and the orange painted Syoro (鐘楼). None of these buildings were open, but it was the poetic atmosphere of these historical buildings in the natural setting that we enjoyed the most. Before leaving, we had a quick visit of the Miedo (御影堂), a Buddhist hall dedicated to Kukai (弘法大師) – the famous 8th century Buddhist monk who studied Buddhism in Xian of China and founded Shingon Buddhism in Japan. After a thorough visit of Goren and Garan, we walked through the monumental Nio-mon Gate once again, leaving Ninnaji slightly after 3pm. Because of the time of year the sun was already quite low, and it felt like late afternoon. We decided to quickly take the bus a few stops northwards to probably the most popular attraction in Kyoto, the Kinkakuji (金閣寺), or the Golden Pavilion.

It was a pleasant 15-minute walk from Ryoanji Temple to Ninnaji Temple.

We walked past beautiful autumn maples along the way.

We finally reached the monumental Nio-mon Gate, the main gate of Ninnaji Temple.

The timber structure of the Nio-mon Gate is a beautiful piece of architecture.

After getting the admission tickets, we entered the Goren (御殿) via a stone path flanked by the dry landscape of pebble and sand.

We took off our shoes and entered a zigzag covered walkway to enter the main buildings of Goren (御殿).

The Dantei (南庭), South Garden, of Goren (御殿) is a peaceful dry landscape of pebbles and sand, with the Chokushi-mon Gate (勅使門) and Nio-mon Gate (二王門) as background.