Taizo-in Temple* | johnliddlephotography

It could be said that Kyoto has an embarrassment of riches in terms of the number and variety of Buddhist temples located within this ancient and culturally rich city. At one end of the scale one may come across small local temples, most often found when wandering the streets and at the other end of the spectrum are the large sprawling temple complexes such as Myoshin-ji in Kyoto’s north-east.

These large temple complexes are always impressive given their scale, yet each varies in character. For example, if I think of Kyoto’s Tenryu-ji (https://johnliddlephotography.com/2014/02/11/tenryu-ji-kyoto/) I think of generations of monks working tirelessly to create a serene environment. On the other hand, Nagano’s Zenkoji Temple (https://johnliddlephotography.com/2016/02/06/zenkoji-temple/) conjures images of a warring and bloody history. Myoshin-ji is different again with its feeling of community with many of the sub-temples serving also as residences and members of the local community simply “hanging-out” within the temple grounds.

Estimates of the number of sub-temples within the complex range from 38 to 50, with most closed to the public. Nevertheless, many front gates are open or ajar to offer visitors a glimpse of what lies beyond, a la the opening photograph “Peek-a-boo”. Meandering through the complex’s laneways is a delightful way to gain an appreciation of this very Buddhist community and I suspect I may have inadvertently wandered into a few of the “off limits” sub-temples such as Nehando where I came across the entrancing Jizo statuary shown at pics 8 to 11. Sometimes one’s poor language skills can be an advantage!

The other images demonstrate, in my opinion, how splendour can manifest in different ways. The images (pics 2 to 7) of the main Myoshin-ji buildings (the Butsuden and the Hatto) are further examples of the solid Japanese architecture typical of major traditional temple buildings. These buildings sit so solidly into their environment as to appear immovable and evoke feelings of calm and serenity. Elsewhere in the complex one finds the highly popular Taizo-in Temple, much admired for its beautiful gardens (pics 12 to 17) that similarly evoke feelings of calm and serenity, albeit by different means. I felt fortunate when the smartly dressed people wandered into the shot (pic 15), thus giving the image a rather timeless feel and one hopes that the final image has indeed become a precious memory for the elderly and young person mesmerized by the Japanese Koi fish.

(Please click on any of the following images for an enlarged view.)

Peek-a-boo

Myoshin-ji main buildings – pic 1

Myoshin-ji main buildings – pic 2

Myoshin-ji main buildings – pic 3

Myoshin-ji main buildings – pic 4

Myoshin-ji main buildings – pic 5

Myoshin-ji main buildings – pic 6

Jizo at Nehando Temple – pic 1

Jizo at Nehando Temple – pic 2

Jizo at Nehando Temple – pic 3

Jizo at Nehando Temple – pic 4

Taizo-in Rock Garden – pic 1

Taizo-in Rock Garden – pic 2

Taizo-in Japanese Pond Garden – pic 1

Taizo-in Japanese Pond Garden – pic 2

So Japanese

A Precious Moment at Yoko-en

My desire to experience a cherry blossom (sakura) season was born when photographing the beautiful autumn colours during my first visit to Japan. At that time the sakura trees were standing bare, yet even then one could imagine the transformation when they bloomed. Although my personal preference is probably for the autumn hues, the visual spectacle of cherry blossoms in bloom is magnificent and the atmosphere created is, of course, unique to Japan.

Cherry blossom season starts in the south in tropical Okinawa around late January and moves gradually north to end in Hokkaido around May. Being a natural phenomena, the season is naturally dependent on weather conditions, hence the interest at this time of year on news reports and websites tracking the appearance of the fragile and delicate blooms.

The viewing season is short – perhaps two weeks or less and it would seem that this symbolic reminder of the cycle of life is what has most contributed to the sakura’s place in the Japanese psyche. Life is temporary and each year the sakura provides a reminder to use our time well and an opportunity to celebrate the gift of life.

When discussing the sakura season with Japanese people, it becomes apparent that many hold special memories of their sakura experiences. I recall asking a Japanese friend what sakura meant to her and she recalled a day in Tokyo where she and her boyfriend were cycling under sakura trees as the petals gently fell to the ground. What was most impressive about the telling of her story was that she was transported back to that moment in time – such is the power of sakura.

It is now that time of year around Japan’s major population centres in central Honshu when new memories will be formed and what better time to share images from the last sakura season. In this and successive posts, I intend to share a series of images depicting different themes of how cherry blossoms present.

For this initial post I have chosen to simply focus on their delicate beauty and invite viewers to remember similar views or imagine being there. My images are drawn from magnificent gardens found within four of Kyoto’s many temples and shrines. The first nine images are scenes from the gardens within the Heian Shrine, which, in my opinion, had the most visually impressive sakura. The peace and tranquility of these gardens was interrupted only by the frequent sighs of appreciation from those savouring the spectacle.

These are followed by three images (pics 10 to 12) from Ryoanji, one of my favourite places in Kyoto, with pic 12 being a particular favourite, where the solitary sakura dominates the landscape. Ninnaji is close to Ryoanji and given that a television station was photographing the blooms on this day, perhaps these images (pics 13 and 14) were indeed taken at the peak time. Understandably, but unfortunately, the trees could only be viewed from walkways and one was denied the pleasure of walking through the tunnels of overhanging branches shown at pic 14.

The final shots (pics 15 and 16) taken at Taizo-in present two quite different views. Whereas pic 16 shows that a lone cherry blossom tree can command attention even within a typically beautiful Japanese garden; pic 15, where sakura blossoms have filled the hollows in the karesansui (Japanese dry garden) is fittingly symbolic of the season.

(Please click on any of the following images for an enlarged view.)