The less visited sites of Nara
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November 3, 2014 - The less visited sites of Nara
We went by coach to Horyu-ji temple complex a few miles outside Nara city. Horyu-ji is reputed to be the birth place of Buddhism in Japan and houses the worlds oldest surviving wooden structures, more than 1300 years old. Built by Crown Prince Shotoku it includes a five storey pagoda, a main hall in the western precinct and an unusual octagonal hall and museums in the eastern precinct. It also has a large Kurin or storehouse built off the ground with very strong fire resistant construction designed to be earthquake proof.
From Horyu-ji we moved on to the small Zen temple of Jiko-in, built in 1663 in the hills surrounding Nara and were welcomed with a cup of green tea in the drawing room with its wonderful views of the garden. The ability to remove the sliding shoji wall panels provides an uninterrupted view of the garden and hence its integration with the living space. The garden comprised of large manicured azaleas and a shapely pruned camellia. The temple has two thatched buildings with a castle style entrance and drawing room. A small courtyard garden was situated between the drawing room and the main hall with two tea ceremony rooms attached. A delightful little gem.
We travelled nearer the city centre to an area of archaeological interest and site of the 8th century Imperial palace, when Nara (then Heijo-kyo) was the capital prior to transfer to Kyoto. The site was laid out on Chinese municipal lines and occupied an area of some 20 square kilometres, now currently in the suburbs of the modern city. The Imperial villa garden of Kyuseki has been recently excavated to reveal an gSh shaped winding stream like pond. It provided the perfect venue for banquets at which haiku would be composed while tiny paper boats and ducks would be floated down stream with cups of sake for those who could complete the poem in time.
On the way back from Nara we ventured up a narrow valley road to the temple of Gansen-in situated at the head of the valley. Dating from the early 8th century, a pagoda was erected as a thanks giving for the birth of an heir to the throne. The main hall is a recent re-construction and houses important statuary. There were only a few houses in the hamlet including a pottery shop, clearly delighted to be descended upon by a coach load of tourists. Local produce was also on sale at roadside stalls (aubergines and persimons) in front of small scale market gardens and rice paddies. A truly rural scene,
We returned down the valley to the temple of Joruri-ji, built in the 8th century on geomantic lines of the five animals with a West facing hall of the Amida Buddha and is a Pure Land paradise garden representing the Western Paradise. A pond in front, hillside to the rear and taller trees/shrubs on blue dragon and white tiger sides. Facing the main hall across the pond is another 3 storey pagoda similar in construction to that at Gansen-in. This catches the evening sun and represents the Eastern Paradise.
The Kasuga Taisha shrine founded when Nara was the capital city by the Fujiwara family. It is situated in Nara deer park has some 3000 lanterns, which are lit twice a year and after which the Kasuga lantern style has been named. It also has many iron lanterns which hang from the eaves of the shrine buildings.
The Isuien garden is located along the Yoshikien river near the gate to the famous Todai-ji temple. The main garden is a large stroll garden with pond and is designated a scenic spot. There are two smaller gardens including a pond and hill style garden and a dry landscape garden.
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List of Posts:
2017/07/25 - Japan's tectonic landscape reflected in the gardens 2017/07/15 - Flora of Japan 2016/04/27 - Time in Asakusa 2016/04/25 - Kakunodate 2016/04/23 - A Thousand Cranes 2016/04/22 - Castle in the Clouds 2016/04/21 - The beauty of Koraku-en 2016/04/20 - Far from the Madding Kyoto Crowds - Part 1 2016/04/20 - Far from the Madding Kyoto Crowds - Part 2 2016/04/18 - A Day in the Mountains 2016/04/17 - Delights of Hikone 2016/04/16 - Nara Revisited 2015/01/03 - Kamakura temples and gardens 2015/01/01 - Takayama Temple Trail 2014/12/29 - Kurama - Kibune hiking trail 2014/11/10 - A visit to Himeji 2014/11/05 - Shigemori Mirei - The Rebel in the Garden 2014/11/04 - Arashiyama and nearby sights 2014/11/03 - The less visited sites of Nara 2014/11/03 - The gems of Matsue 2014/10/31 - Agon-shu Monastery 2014/10/30 - In the footsteps of the Shogun 2014/10/30 - Tale of the Genji |
