This time, we explored several temples closer to the train station. The first was only a couple blocks north - Higashi Honganji. This is one of two temples that were built in the 1500s. Its sister temple, Nishi Honganji is apparently the more favored of the two temples - and while that may be up for debate among historians, the fact that Higashi Honganji is currently under construction for a refurbished roof, definitely makes it the less appealing to tourists. So why did we go? The first time I went to Japan, I remember talking with my grandfather about the experience. He had been to Japan at some point during his service during the Korean War, and he had good memories of Japan. One thing he remembered seeing was a temple with a rope made of human hair. He remembered that the women in the city had donated their hair in order to create ropes that were strong enough to lift the huge beams that were required to build the temple, and this act of community and selflessness had made an impression on my grandfather. I was pretty sure he had told me that the rope was in a temple in Nara, but after a Google search, I was able to place it in Kyoto - at least, I'm pretty sure this was the one he was talking about. Good thing for the Internet, though. The rope itself doesn't attract that much attention, and even my students who had lived in Kyoto their whole lives had never heard of it. We were able to find it, though, and made a point of going to see it. Impressions? The rope's story is still impressive, but the rope itself - kind of gross. It is mouldering away in a glass case wrapped into a giant coil. Sorry, no pictures. You can find photos on the internet, though.
The Higashi Honganji temple was impressive in size - the largest wooden structure in Kyoto - and had enormous wooden columns and beams. It is hard to imagine how it was built - or that Japan ever had trees that size. Next to the rope, there was a crude wooden sledge that was apparently used slide trees out of the mountains during winter. As you can imagine, this was far from a safe activity - especially in Winter. It was too bad that the roof was under construction, there was scaffolding and an outer shell up to protect the temple, so we don't really have any pictures. I did get a shot of the washing area. You are suppose to wash your hands (and often your mouth when the water is potable) at these areas. This one was especially impressive with water pouring from a dragon's mouth.
Having finished our pilgrimage to see the rope, we next headed to the longest wooden structure in Kyoto - the Sanjuusangendo. To copy wholesale from another website:
"Sanjuusangendo" was founded in 1164. The names means "Hall with 33 Bays" and refers to the spaces between the pillars of the hall. The number "33" is also significant in Buddhist tradition because "Kannon-Bodhisattva" saves mankind by disguising himself in 33 different ways. The building is 390' (118m) long and houses one large central image of a Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) and no less than 1000 other life-sized (5'5") statues - 500 arrayed on either side. Another 30 statues of gods and spirits stand in front."
I knew about the 1001 statues of Buddha, but I didn't expect the 30 gods and spirits. They were by far the most interesting part for me. Each had been carved from wood (in several pieces that were fit together later) and they had glass eyes that made them look much more alive than the buddha statues behind them. Each statue was striking. There was an old man, a god of thunder, a god of wind - I recommend looking these up on the Internet. We weren't allowed to take pictures, so I don't have any to share from inside the temple, but it was really impressive, and definitely a recommended place to visit if you are ever in Kyoto.
After all the time on our feet, we couldn't quite bring ourselves to walk uphill to the next site I had been planning on. At first, we decided to change plans and go to the National Museum across the street from the Sanjuusangendo - but we were still tired, so we took a break and went to have traditional sweets at a restaurant down the street. The restauarant was in an old traditional style house with tatami flooring and sliding doors. We had to take our shoes off before entering and we sat on cushions on the tatami mats. I'm not sure what Russell ordered, but I had mochi with adzuki. I had had this before in Hokkaido when our friend Hiro insisted we try it. It consists of red beans cooked down with sugar until they make a kind of sweet dark red bean sauce. This sauce is presented kind of like a thick soup with mochi balls floating in it. Mochi is a rice sweet made simply by pounding the heck out of rice until the natural gluten in rice forms into a rubbery texture. Rice naturally has sugars in it, so when paired with other sweet things - like red bean sauce and paste - it makes a very tasty dessert. Our desserts also came with more Matcha - which I described in Kyoto Day #1.
We had a good rest and were very proud of ourselves for successfully navigating an eating experience that we were both unfamiliar with. Unfortunately, by the time we returned to the museum, there was only about an hour left - and for $13 dollars each, we decided it would be better to return another day when we were less pressed for time. Instead, newly invigorated, we decided to walk to Toji temple and pagoda, which one of Russell's friends had recommended. Now that I think about it, this was keeping with our "superlative" theme for the day. The Toji pagoda is the tallest in Japan. We figured, even if it closed before we arrived, we could at least enjoy it from the outside.
As it turned out, we arrived about 30 minutes before closing, so there was just enough time to go walk through the pagoda. I was hoping we would be able to walk up to the different levels, but while there were stairs, they were cordoned off. Instead, we only got to walk around the central shrine with four buddha statues. One interesting thing that we had learned from the Sanjuusangendo was that Buddhist temples - at least their rafters were often painted with intricate blue red and and white floral and geometric patters. There had been a hint of the original paint that could still be spotted in the Sanjuusangendo, but in the pagoda the old paint was easier to see. The temples must have been gorgeous when they were fresh painted. The plan in the current temples seems to be preserving what is left - I haven't seen any temples that have been repainted. Maybe we just haven't been to enough of them yet...
We finished off our evening at an izakaya near the station. Unlike the first izakaya we went to with my coworkers, this one felt a bit more typical - small, crowded, smokey, and unpretentious. The food was very tasty, if a bit greasy, and there was a wide selection of sake and distilled spirits of the region. Russell is really enjoying the sweet potato-based alcohol. I'm good rotating between sake and oolong tea. We left with a renewed interest in finding a favorite izakaya in our neighborhood. This can't be a good idea for our pocketbooks or our waist-lines.
So that was Day #2 in Kyoto. We still have plenty to go back and see, but we got a good sense of the city and we are pleased at how easy it is to get to - only one hour if we catch the fast train.
Today, Tuesday and the last day of vacation, was devoted to hanging out at home and resting. We did venture out to rent a movie - something we hadn't gotten around to trying yet. We found a video store nearby and managed to open an account. Sometimes its nice when something kind of trivial is all you can claim for the highlight of the day. :)
I've been putting off grading papers and preparing tests all day, so I had better get to it. Its already 6pm!
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