Nariaiji

Nariai-ji is a temple complex in northern Kyoto Prefecture overlooking the city of Amanohashidate. The temple was first constructed in 704 C.E. is the 28th stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and is known today for granting prayers.

For the casual: 6. For the educated: 3.

Let’s get straight to the point, this temple incredibly beautiful. For sure it’s not an easy location to get to: Sea of Japan coast, long train rides, super steep roads, and more, but once you’re there it’s a wonderful place to stop and spend some time. There’s the beautiful pine trees all around, the view of Amanohashidate from the observation deck, and a five story pagoda surrounded by maple trees. Smell the air, take some photos, and enjoy the day, it’s worth it.

 

Sekizan-Zenin

Sekizan-Zenin is a temple in the Higashiyama disctrict of Kyoto dedicated to the Sekizan Daimyôjin. The temple was founded in the 9th century and is one of the temples on the Kyoto pilgrimmage of Shichifukujin (七福神), The Seven Lucky Gods, in Kyoto.

For the casual: 7. For the educated: 4.

Sekizan-Zenin is a fun temple to visit in Kyoto if you’re looking for a change of pace. There are notable statues and features of the temple that are uncommon anywhere else. There are lucky monkey statues on the roofs, there is a prayer bead gate to walk through for luck, and there are dozens of statues of monks, priests, and holy figures. Rather than a temple with one main hall, Sekizan-Zenin is a complex of small halls and shrines.

Just a photo note. I was going through my photos to write this post and for some reason I never took a photo of the buildings, just statues and other small things. Sorry about that. If you can take my word on it, this is a lovely little temple with beautiful buildings. Sorry!

The orange sign reads “goshuin” and there are dozens of signs around every corner leading the path through the complex to the goshuin booth. It made me laugh at least.

 

Kurama-dera

In the mountains north of Kyoto, Kurama-dera was founded atop the mountain with the same monacher in the late 8th century C.E. The temple was originally founded as a nature retreat, a spot to get away from the chaos and commotion of everyday life and enter a serene and secluded life in search of spiritual enlightenment. Now, that dream is slightly less viable with the massive city of Kyoto crammed up against the entrance of the mountain pass. The temple itself is known for a long and storied history, but it’s most known for a powerful supernatural connection between the samurai general Minamoto Yoshitsune, and the tengu of Kurama-san, Sôjôbô.

For the casual: 6. For the educated: 7.

Kurama-dera, like any good mountain complex, is not simply confined to one location on the steep slopes. The temple has its main halls in one location, but there are a series of smaller halls, shrines, and locations of import all across the mountain. Most of these locations are reasonably accessable along a mountain trail which begins on the east side where the temple is, and ends on the west side.

The temple grounds have a great many important locations like an energy locus on the observation deck, rooms where sutra copies can be written, and homes for some of the temple’s important artifacts. A small museum is also open to the public for a small fee which contains temple artifacts, items relating to the tengu legends of the area, and also the wildlife found across the mountain.

There’s even a shrine to the king of demons (奥の院魔王殿) ! Now, I’m not sure if this is a shrine to a specific demon, monster, or just a darkness that seems to be present in the area; I mean, the landscape behind the building looks pretty hell-ish. I think what is more likely is that this shrine is dedicated to Sôjôbô, the tengu I mentioned earlier. He was said to be the king/god of all tengu in Japan and some myths state that he had the power of 1,000 tengu. When Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Ushiwakamaru) was staying at the temple, he trained under the famed tengu and learned martial arts, military strategy, and magic. While tengu are yokai of extraordinary power, they can be equal parts benevolent and malevolent. This small shrine may be to appease the evil side of the tengu that could bring destruction to the towns, and even the kidnapping of children. Of course, this is all conjecture since I couldn’t find any concrete information regarding the temple grounds.

 

Nanzenji

Located on the slopes of Higashiyama in Kyoto, Nanzenji is one of the most prominant Rinzai Zen temples in Kyoto. Unfortunately, due to the various raids and civil wars that took place in Kyoto during the Muromachi Period (1333-1573 C.E.) the temple was burned down multiple times. The oldest building standing dates back to the Sengoku Period following the Muromachi Period.

For the casual: 6. For the educated: 8.

I would describe this as one of the more diffucult temples to evaluate in the Kyoto area because of it being in Kyoto. The buildings and temple grounds are beautiful, and of course I’ll go into more detail with that, but because it’s in Kyoto, I wouldn’t recommend this temple as a must see. If anything, I would agrue that it’s a great temple to go to when you’ve come to visit a second or third time and you’ve already done the major locations in the city. Essentially, I believe that this temple is most beautiful when visitors have time to really soak it in, not when they are pressed for time. Because of that, I think I graded it a little on the lower side of things.

I also wish to note, that I believe that visiting Nanzenji is the perfect ending to following the Philosopher’s Path. If you are unfamiliar with this path, it’s a street/trail that follows a stream of spring water from the mountains into central Kyoto while being lined the whole way with cherry trees. Typically I enjoy starting the walk after a quick visit to Ginkakuji, then I follow it down to Nanzenji for a short rest under the cool trees.

Nanzenji is a temple of natural beauty mixed with waves of new architecture. Tall gates copy the grandeur of the pine trees, cherry and maple trees decorate the stone paths, and lush moss clings to the red brick of the aquaduct running through. The exterior beauty of the temple is free to access and very fun to walk around. Typically there are people lounging by the aquaduct on short benches while kids go fishing for crawdads in the cold spring waters. In spring a dance of cherry blossoms flutter through the air, sometimes traveling a great distance from their home trees. In autumn, maple leaves add sharp dashes of color to the otherwise very dimure temple grounds.

The really important visuals to see require a ticket which I believe is around 800 yen. With this ticket, visitors will gain access to the quarters of the head priest which are surrounded by some of the most famous rock gardens and screen paintings in Japan. For this reason I think anyone with a background in Japanese art history will appreciate this temple more. The paintings are done by the Kano school and it’s easy to see the connection that Kano developed with the Rinpa school of art. Some screens follow the traditional Kano school style of white screens black ink, while the majority of screens mirror the samurai influence and extravagant style of bright colors and swaths of gold. Seasonal screens depict birds, snow, flowers, and a variety of scenes that inspire a sense of wonder and serenity.