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The Ginkaku & Koji Pond

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) in Kyoto’s northern mountains (Kitayama) has a counterpart in silver nestled at the foot of the city’s eastern mountains (Higashima) – the Temple of the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji), or the Jisho-ji, “Temple of Shining Mercy”, the temple’s formal name.

It was the third stop for Day 4 in Kyoto after the twin Kamo temples—the Kamigamo and Shimogamo shrines, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Ginakaku-ji may not be listed as a World Heritage Site, but the temple’s Kannon-den and Togu-do are both designated as National Treasures.

A closer look of the Kannon Hall or the Silver Pavilion

On the 25,000-square meter grounds of the garden temple today was where the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa built his retirement villa in 1482 and was modeled after the Kinkaku-ji, the retirement villa of his grandfather. Upon Yoshimasa’s death in 1490, the villa was converted into a Zen temple in accordance with his wishes.

The temple got its name from the Ginkaku (“Silver Pavilion”), or the Kannon-den, the two-storey structure in the temple grounds that contains the statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.

Unlike Kinkaku, which is wrapped in gold leaf, the Silver Pavilion never got to realize the silver-foil overlay design detail of the structure due to the long delay of its completion when construction was halted during the Onin War.

The silver cladding may not have happened but with that intention, the structure earned its nickname a century after its construction. On the other hand, the moonlight’s reflection against the black lacquer exterior (the building’s coating in the past) emitted a silvery sheen.

This Ginkaku is one of two buildings in the temple grounds that survived the fires and earthquakes of the past centuries.

The temple became the center of the Higashiyama Culture, a contemporary culture that didn't limit Japanese aesthetics to Kyoto’s aristocratic circles (in contrast to the Kitayama Culture during his grandfather’s times). With the new culture, the arts, which include the tea ceremony, theater and poetry, flower and garden design and architecture, were developed and refined.

Beside the Hondo (main hall) is perhaps the more distinctive feature of the Ginakaku-ji— its dry sand garden called the “Sea of Silver Sand”. The “Ginshadan” is a plot of sand is designed with an elevation, and in one part of the sand garden is the “Moon Viewing Platform”, a massive mesa-like cone of sand called the Kogetsudai. The sand formations are intended to accentuate the beauty of the moon when viewed during the autumn full moon.

“Sea of Silver Sand"

The Kogetsudai or the "Moon Viewing Platform" of the dry sand garden

The Togu-do is the other building in the compound that dates back to Ginkaku-ji’s foundation and National Treasure. In it is a study room of 4.5 tatami mats, which is said to be the oldest existing example of Shoin architecture.

, one of two buildings in the complex that dates back to the Ginakaku-ji's foundation. It's a designated National Treasure

The Togu-do

Two terraces make up the temple’s garden. The lower terrace is where the dry sand garden, the Kyo-chi Pond and other small ponds with bridges are, and the upper terrace offers a beautiful view of the temple grounds and the city beyond.

The gardens in the lower terrace

Trek to the upper terrace

The upper terrace of the sprawling garden offers a view of the temple grounds & the city beyond

Ginkaku-ji is a beautiful place to visit. Make it part of your itinerary when you're in Kyoto.

For lifestyle stories, visit www.ofapplesandlemons.com

Email me at jinggoysalvador@yahoo.com

Also published in the SunStar Davao newspaper.

CONVERSATION

Ichi-no-Torii, First shrine Gate

The two sand cones lured me to the Shinto shrine of the Kamigamo (Upper Kamo Shrine). It was the first stop on Day 4 in Kyoto. It turned out there was more to the cones—it served a purification function for the shrine and to memorialize the holy trees that once served to welcome spirits. Apparently it has a twin shrine, the Shimogamo-jinja ("Lower Kamo Shrine").

Shimogamo, like the Kamogamo, is one of the most important and oldest shrines in Kyoto. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.

The twin shrines, located about two kilometers apart on the outskirts of Heaian-kyo, were developed to prevent the infiltration of demons and predate Kyoto’s establishment as a Japanese capital in 794. Of the two shrines, the Shimogamo is older by about a hundred years.

Shimogamo Shrine is dedicated to the veneration of Tamayori-hime, the mother of Kamo Wakeikazuchi (the kami venerated in Kamogamo-jinja), and her father, Kamo Taketsunomi.

The Ro-mon, the tower gate

Shimogamo shrine grounds, with the Kawai-jinja Mai-dono, or the Kawai Shrine Sacred Dance Hall (left)

Shimogamo inner gate

The Taikobashi bridge

Ema by the Koto-sha, a small sub-shrine

Mitarai-sha

Aioi Shrine, a small complex dedicated to the god of marriage. It's located near the Romon gate

Perhaps a big part of Shimogamo-jinja’s allure is its location. Surrounding it is the Tadasu no Mori, a primeval forest which was preserved during Kyoto’s modernization and survived through centuries of Kyoto’s revolts and wars, bouncing back to life after suffering damage.

Today, the forest spans over 12 hectares and is well protected by both national and international measures. The lush vegetation includes 600 year-old trees and rare Broadleaf trees.

Tadasu no mori is also referred to as “The Forest of Truth” or “The Forest Where Lies are Revealed”. Perhaps no secret is kept from the forest spirits when walking the approach, the long path that goes through the Tadau no mori to the main shrine.

On this path is where the annual yabusame (horseback archery) contest is held every May 3rd.

The walk to the main shrine passes through Tadasu no Mori, the "Forest Where Lies are Revealed".

Inside the shrine are structures erected in 678 during the reign of the Emperor Tenmu. This shrine flourished along with the imperial culture during the reign of the Emperor Kanmu when Heian-kyo became the capital city of Japan.

Twin shrines checked off the list and on to the next stop for the day —the Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion.

For lifestyle stories, visit www.ofapplesandlemons.com

Email me at jinggoysalvador@yahoo.com

Also published in the SunStar Davao newspaper.

CONVERSATION

In my travels around Japan or anywhere else across the globe, have I ever seen a Zen rock garden? I honestly can't even recall. If I did, this one erased all my memories of the others, and if not, then I’m in luck.

On my third stop for the day on the third day in Kyoto I found myself in the Ryoan-ji, an aristocrat’s villa during the Heian Period converted to a Zen temple belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism in 1450.

Sanmon gate to the temple. Sanmon is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple

Calligraphy on the screens at the hojo's foyer

Interior of the hojo

Paintings by artists on screen doors

I sat before a most calming site—a Zen rock garden, said to be the most famous rock garden in Japan and considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui or "dry landscape" composed of large rocks formation and small, smooth and polished river pebbles which were carefully selected.

How the garden is designed in a 248 square-meter rectangular plot with 15 stones of varying sizes arranged in five groups: a group with five stones, two with three stones, and two groups of two stones. The groups float on patches of moss, the (only) vegetation providing the green against the sea of white pebbles, which is carefully raked daily by the monks.

How many rock can you see. The rock garden of Ryōan-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan

As to what the garden means, no one really knows. Some say it represents the theme of a tiger carrying its cubs across a pond while others claim it’s an abstract concept like infinity.

The veranda of the hojo (the residence of the abbot of the monastery) is the best seat in the house, or it’s the spot meant to view the garden.

Here’s the interesting feature of the garden— it reveals only 14 stones at one time when viewed at any angle from the hojo. To be able to view the fifteenth stone one has to attain enlightenment, so it is said.

Clearly, I won't be able to view all fifteen stones on this visit not unless I can fly over the formation, or I can take the realistic path and see the scaled replica.

Just as the garden’s meaning is uncertain, so is its history. No one can peg the date when the garden was actually created (15th century, perhaps?) and who designed it.

The scale model of the Zen rock garden

The small garden at the rear part of the hojo bears another interesting feature— the tsukubai, a round stone trough with a square water basin in its center. Tsukubai literally translates to “crouch” and because of the basin’s low elevation, the user must bend over to use it, a sign of reverence and humility.

The basin may look like an ordinary rock mimicking the shape of a Chinese coin, but if one knows kanji, the square is a part of a Zen inscription. With the four kanji inscriptions combined with the representation of the square on the basin, the characters will reveal “I only sufficiency know”, which can mean, “I know only satisfaction.” The saying is a part of the Buddhist teachings that “one already has all one needs”.

The tsukubai at the hojo's rear garden

The veranda at the rear of the the hojo

The temple grounds of the Ryoanji also hold a sizable park with a pond, the Kyoyochi Pond. It was built in the 12th century as part of the aristocrat’s estate.

Gardens of Ryōan-ji

Kyoyochi Pond, created in the 12th century as a water garden.

Another one off the Kyoto significant places list. The Ryoanji temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.