Most Popular Course 3
Kinkakuji First
Kinkakuji Temple is famous for the Golden Pavilion and registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994
Originally, the Golden Pavilion and many buildings were build at the end of the 14th century by the retired Shougun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as his villa (Shogun is a leader of the military government in old Japan)
when he build the villa, he had the greatest power in Japan.
Although he retired, he handed over his Shogun position to his 8 year old son who be controlled by him.
And after his retirement, he became the Great Minister (太政大臣) who could control aristocrats, in the next year of his retirement he became a Buddhist priest to control the religious world.
he could control the military, the aristocracy and religious circles.
After the buildings were built, he had lived in this place, and he reined Japan for about 10 years until he died. this area was the political and cultural center of Japan.
In winter
After his death, the estate was transformed to a Zen temple according to his will; then, some original buildings were moved to other temples.
Most of the other buildings were demolished by his son, who didn’t like his father.
And a civil war broke in the 15th century, but fortunately ,
the Golden Pavilion survived.
Ryoanji Second
Ryoanji temple, a Zen Buddhist temple of the Myoshinji school of the Rinzai sect, located at the mountain Kinugasa.
The temple was originally a villa of an aristocrat, but in 1450,Daimyo (lord) Hosokawa Katsumoto converted it into a Zen temple.
It was burned down during the Onin War (1467-77),but rebuilt in 1488 by Katsumoto’s sons.
Zen temples such as Ryoanji have a dry/rock garden. it is created by using only white sand and stones without any water to represent the spiritual world of Zen like a landscape-painting.
The Ryoanji stone garden is one of Kyoto’s most renowned attractions,
So, famous worldwide that the name has become synonymous with Japanese rock gardens
Ryoanji temple received UNESCO world Heritage site in 1994 and is especially famous for its mysterious rock garden ”kare-sansui”
The temple features a simple yet remarkable garden that covers a rectangular shape with a size a tennis court.
The world famous rock garden consists of white raked sand with fifteen rocks and uses the laws of perspective to make the garden appear deeper
It is best to see the temple in the early morning before worshipers visit.
The beautiful and calm of the stone garden will help you purge the stress from their daily lives
Many people see it that the garden expresses natural landscape such as ocean and islands with lines by the raked white sand and the fifteen rocks scattered on it.
Other theories abound including, islands in the sea, a tigress and her cubs crossing a river, and strokes of the Chinese character meaning
”heart” or ”mind”
Even if you look at the garden from anywhere on the engawa ( wooden veranda), you can never see all fifteen rocks.
It is said that fifteen rocks are cleverly arranged on a sea of white sand so that only one of them is kept hidden from any point
A miniature of the rock garden is demonstrated inside the temple, and you will be able to spot all fifteen stones
Arashiyama Third
Arashiyama, also known as Sagano, is one of the time- honored travel destinations located on the western outskirts of Kyoto. At the foot of Arashiyama, there are many historical temples, shrines, and historical sites making it a famous tourist destination.
Offering a breathtaking panorama of serene Mt Arashiyama, Togetsukyo (Togetsu Bridge is said to have been named after Emperor Kameyama wrote the song ”The moon seems to cross over the bridge” during the Heian period), or ”Moon Crossing Bridge”, is the major landmark of this scenic spot featuring a wide variety of tourist attractions ranging from Tenryuji Temple ( Tenryuji Temple is a temple that was converted from a detached palace, Kameyama-den, in order for Takauji Ashikaga to mourn the bodhi of Emperor Go-daigo) to Iwatayama Monkey Park to spectacular bamboo groves.
Arashiyama is also world- famous as one of Japan’s best spots for viewing cherry blossoms and autumn leaves ( The trees of Arashiyama turn red ,The Togetsu Bridge with Arashiyama in the background is a magnificent view !!).
Have a nice day Sho