The Nakasendo Way * Part 2

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When I left you in Nakasendo Walk Part 1 we were in Arashiyama which is found on the west of Kyoto flanking the hills.











If we walk through this bamboo grove we will come to the home of Okochi Sanso, a Japanese actor of the silent film era, who lived from 1898-1962.
His beautiful 30 year old garden is now open to the public.

I suggest you click on these photos in order to get a better feel for the beauty of the environments.

















Another find in Arashiyama is the almost hidden moss garden of the tiny Ghi Ohji temple.











I have learned that the Shinto religion has a shrine whilst the Buddhist faith has a temple.
I remember that by the fact that both Shinto and shrine begin with the letter S.

A Shinto shrine is nearly always accompanied by a torii or gate - Remember the red torii we saw last time at Fushimi Inari?

The torii at a Shinto shrine is usually vermillion in colour and the shrine itself can be quite ornate and garish, sometimes decorated with fluttering paper flags.

The Buddhist Temple in contrast is usually a much more sedate simple structure although it can be larger in size.
The Japanese religious belief system is a very flexible one. It is said that 90% of the population is Shinto and 90% are Buddhist. Most Japanese take practices and beliefs from both the Shinto and Buddhist traditions to inform, give shape and add meaning to their lives.











A bus from central Kyoto railway station took us through the countryside for an hour to reach the small town of Ohara north of Kyoto. The purpose of this visit was to view the gardens of the Sanzen-in temple, ( you now know that it is Buddhist), a modest open building with deep, cool verandahs open to the breeze.











While resting on the verandah contemplating the mossy garden an iridescent beetle, not unlike the Christmas beetle, crawled in front of my feet. I watched as it crawled up my arm and then offered him to the Japanese couple sitting alongside. They warily accepted my gift and gasped when the beetle eventually spread its wings to fly away.











People go to Nara, an ancient capital of Japan, to see the huge Daibutsu,which sits sixteen metres tall. The Buddha is housed in what the Nara tourist literature claims is the largest wooden structure in the world. But as I had already heard that claim made of the Higashi Honganji temple I wouldn't vouch for it.

At Nara
There sat the great bronze Buddha
From his hollow nostril
Suddenly darted out a swallow

Basho

The bronze Buddha and his friend occupying the VERY LARGE temple are indeed remarkable but what I enjoyed more was the walk through the surrounding parkland, replete with dozens of inquisitive deer.

We are awaiting a deer biscuit purchaser

The gravel pathways to the Kasuga Taisha shrine were lined with thousands of stone lanterns called joyato.










A beautiful attendant with a bract of wisteria in her hair wrote a welcome message in my temple visiting book. Each temple, shrine, place of cultural importance and even some lowly inns in Japan provide pictorial stamps for you to ink and press into your visiting book as evidence of your piety or record of your visit.











An unexpected find in the forest garden at Nara was the Treasure Museum, displaying at that time, an exhibition of ancient dance costume and musical instruments.

With ancient bronze Buddhas at Nara
Comes the green, honeyed scent of
Chrysanthemums

Basho













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