Honganji

Down from the hills of Ohara and I decide to end the day visiting the two Honganji temples which are situated just north of Kyoto station.

My first stop was Higashi Honganji where one of the halls was undergoing substantial renovation. Renovate a temple in Thailand and you throw up some wooden scaffolding; but in Japan such efforts dictate the enveloping of the building inside a massive warehouse:

With all the renovation work underway, there was not a lot to see, but I followed a walkway until I found a sign that indicated an exit, if I wished to use it:

I did, and then I carried on down the road to Nishi Honganji where nothing was being renovated:

In the main square, there was a man sketching a tree:

The man turned out to be Brian Williams, an artist living in Japan who has pioneered the concept of parabolic paintings. He might be a famous artist, but he has a bladder like the rest of us and he asked me to watch his gear while he went to “see a man about a horse”. I observed that we Brits go and “see a man about a dog”, but the Americans always have to do something larger.

A quick meal, and then as evening set in it was off to check out one of the temples that offered illuminations in the evening. Some lanterns and ladies en route:

My destination was Kodaiji temple; and I almost walked away when I arrived; the queue outside snaked for kilometres (an exaggeration). But it moved swiftly enough and I was soon inside. The reflections in the lake were particularly impressive, impossible to capture in a photo so you will just have to trust me.

There was also a light show in the garden area. The E-M1’s stabilisation worked well here, this was handheld at 1/8th second:

Then a walk through the gardens and exiting through a bamboo forest, suitably lit:

Dinner was a local specialty, boiled tofu, the secret of which lies in the dipping sauce in my limited experience. Washed down by the usual hot sake and was ready for my futon. Slept very well.

Comments 🔗

2013-12-04 | Kevin Moore says

Really like the lantern and bamboo shots nice one.

2013-12-04 | Andrew says

My God man - you must be totally “Templed” out by now - I remember going through that in the first weeks there but there is a limit for me no matter how much I admire the architecture( same with Thailand as well )…which is why the back streets on the way home from temples in the end proved more interesting fodder for my personal view…one thing I loved about Japan was that is was set up so that after a hard day of taking photos ( of which you obviously had many ) it was always possible to find nearby something to slake the thirst ( sake and beer are excellent - the local whiskey is a bit iffy…) good food and a relatively easy way to get home…civilization I believe it’s called…