Word heritage in Kyoto(5) ---kiyomizu-dera temple ---

Kiyomizu-dera temple is the one of the most famous temple in Kyoto.
This temple is famous for the words "Kiyomizu no butai kara tobioriru ".
In English this means "Just like you jump off a cliff into a lake or the ocean".

Kiyomizu-dera , officially Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera , is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto. The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) UNESCO World Heritage site. It was one of 20 finalists for the New7Wonders of the World.

The place is not to be confused with Kiyomizu-dera in Yasugi, Shimane, which is part of the 33-temple route of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage through western Japan, or the Kiyozumi-dera temple associated with the Buddhist priest Nichiren.

in spring we can see cherry blossom

Kiyomizu-dera was founded in the early Heian period. The temple was founded in 778 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, and its present buildings were constructed in 1633, ordered by the Tokugawa Iemitsu. There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water, or pure water.

It was originally affiliated with the old and influential Hossō sect dating from Nara times. However, in 1965 it severed that affiliation, and its present custodians call themselves members of the "Kitahossō" sect.

in autumn the leaf's color turn to red

The main hall has a large veranda, supported by tall pillars, that juts out over the hillside and offers impressive views of the city. Large verandas and main halls were constructed at many popular sites during the Edo period to accommodate large numbers of pilgrims.

The popular expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression "to take the plunge". This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive a 13m jump from the stage, one's wish would be granted. 234 jumps were recorded in the Edo period and, of those, 85.4% survived. The practice is now prohibited.

Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall, where three channels of water fall into a pond. Visitors can catch and drink the water, which is believed to have wish-granting powers.

The temple complex includes several other shrines, among them the Jishu Shrine, dedicated to Ōkuninushi, a god of love and "good matches". Jishu Shrine possesses a pair of "love stones" placed 18 meters apart, which lonely visitors can try to walk between with their eyes closed. Success in reaching the other stone with their eyes closed implies that the pilgrim will find love, or true love. One can be assisted in the crossing, but this is taken to mean that a go-between will be needed. The person's romantic interest can assist them as well.

The complex also offers various talismans, incense, and omikuji (paper fortunes). The site is particularly popular during festivals (especially at New Year's and during obon in the summer) when additional booths fill the grounds selling traditional holiday foodstuffs and souvenirs to throngs of visitors.

In 2007, Kiyomizu-dera was one of 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World. However, it was not picked as one of the seven winning sites.


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Word heritage in Kyoto(4) ---Byodoin ---

Byodo-In is a temple in Uji-city,southward of Kyoto city.
The shape of this temple is seems to be a phoenix.
We Japanese are fascinated the beauty.

This shrine is famous for the design in the back side of 10 yen coin.Please check the 10 yen coin.

Byōdō-in (平等院) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, built in late Heian period. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects.

This temple was originally built in 998 in the Heian period as a rural villa of high-ranking courtier Minamoto no Shigenobu, Minister of the Left. The property was purchased from Minamoto no Shigenobu's wife after he died by Fujiwara no Michinaga, one of the most powerful members of the Fujiwara clan. The villa was made into a Buddhist temple by Fujiwara no Yorimichi in 1052. The most famous building in the temple is the Phoenix Hall (鳳凰堂 Hōō-dō) or the Amida Hall, constructed in 1053. It is the only remaining original building, surrounded by a scenic pond; additional buildings making up the compound were burnt down during a civil war in 1336.

The main building in Byōdō-in, the Phoenix Hall consists of a central hall, flanked by twin wing corridors on both sides of the central hall, and a tail corridor. The central hall houses an image of Amida Buddha. The roof of the hall displays statues of the Chinese phoenix, called hōō in Japanese.



The Phoenix Hall, completed in 1053, is the exemplar of Fujiwara Amida halls. It consists of a main rectangular structure flanked by two L-shaped wing corridors and a tail corridor, set at the edge of a large artificial pond. Though its official name is Amida-dō, it began to be called Hōō-dō, or Phoenix Hall, in the beginning of the Edo period. This name is considered to derive both from the building's likeness to a phoenix with outstretched wings and a tail, and the pair of phoenixes adorning the roof.

Inside the Phoenix Hall, a single image of Amida (c. 1053) is installed on a high platform. The Amida sculpture is made of Japanese cypress and is covered with gold leaf. It was executed by Jōchō, who used a new canon of proportions and a new technique, yosegi, in which multiple pieces of wood are carved out like shells and joined from the inside. The statue measures about three meters high from its face to its knees, and is seated. Applied to the walls of the hall are small relief carvings of celestials, the host believed to have accompanied Amida when he descended from the Western Paradise to gather the souls of believers at the moment of death and transport them in lotus blossoms to Paradise. Raigō paintings on the wooden doors of the Phoenix Hall, depicting the Descent of the Amida Buddha, are an early example of Yamato-e, Japanese-style painting, and contain representations of the scenery around Kyoto.

There is a Jōdo-shiki garden with a pond in front of the building, which in 1997 was dredged as part of an archeological dig. The gardens are a nationally designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty.

The Byōdō-in museum stores and displays most of Byōdō-in's national treasures, including 52 wooden Bodhisattvas, the temple bell, the south end Phoenix, and other historically noteworthy items.

Japan commemorates the building's longevity and cultural significance by displaying its image on the 10 yen coin,and the 10,000 yen note features the phoenix image. In December 1994, UNESCO listed the building as a World Heritage Site as part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto". The Phoenix Hall, the great statue of Amida inside it, and several other items at Byōdō-in are national treasures.

The Japanese post has issued three definitive postage stamps showing the phoenix hall, each prepaying the then postal rate for a surface mail foreign letter: 24.oo yen 1950, 24 yen 1957 and 30 yen 1959. Stamps were produced by the costly engraving method, showing the appreciation of the hall.

Entry to the complex grounds costs 600 yen for adults, and includes access to the gardens and the museum. An entry pass to the Phoenix Hall, which was newly restored in March 2014, costs an additional 300 yen and can be purchased near the gate.



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World Heritage In Kyoto(3) ---Ginkaku-ji temple---

We introduced about Kinkakuji-temple previous day.
The Ginkaku-ji temple is the contrast to the Kinkaku-ji temple.

The reason is simple. The word Kin means the "Gold", and the word "Gin" means the "Silver".The Kinkaku-ji temple is gorgeous ,but the Ginkaku-ji temple is frugality.

Ginkaku-ji , officially named Jishō-ji , is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan.
It is one of the constructions that represents the Higashiyama Culture of the Muromachi period.

Ashikaga Yoshimasa initiated plans for creating a retirement villa and gardens as early as 1460;
and after his death, Yoshimasa would arrange for this property to become a Zen temple. The temple
is today associated with the Shokoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen.
The two-storied Kannon-den (Kannon hall), is the main temple structure.
Its construction began February 21, 1482 (Bummei 14 , 4th day of the 2nd month).
The structure's design sought to emulate the golden Kinkaku-ji which had been commissioned by his grandfather Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
It is popularly known as Ginkaku,
the "Silver Pavilion" because of the initial plans to cover its exterior in silver foil;
but this familiar nickname dates back only as far as the Edo period (1600–1868).

During the Ōnin War, construction was halted. Despite Yoshimasa's intention to cover the structure
with a distinctive silver-foil overlay, this work was delayed for so long that the plans were never realized before Yoshimasa's death.
The present appearance of the structure is understood to be the same as when Yoshimasa himself last saw it.
This "unfinished" appearance illustrates one of the aspects of "wabi-sabi" quality.

Like Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji was originally built to serve as a place of rest and solitude for the Shogun.
During his reign as Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa inspired a new outpouring of traditional culture,
which came to be known as Higashiyama Bunka (the Culture of the Eastern Mountain). Having retired to the villa,
it is said Yoshimasa sat in the pavilion, contemplating the calm and beauty of the gardens as the Ōnin War worsened and Kyoto was burned to the ground.
In 1485, Yoshimasa became a Zen Buddhist monk. After his death on January 27, 1490 (Entoku 2, 7th day of the 1st month),
the villa and gardens became a Buddhist temple complex, renamed Jishō-ji after Yoshimasa's Buddhist name.
After extensive restoration, started February 2008, Ginkaku-ji is again in full glory to visit.
The garden and temple complex are open to the public. There is still no silver foil used.
After much discussion, it was decided to not refinish the lacquer to the original state.
The lacquer finish was the source of the original silver appearance of the temple,
with the reflection of silver water of the pond on the lacquer finish.


The Ginkaku-ji temple is not used the metal silver.The atomosphere seems to be like silver.



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