A Visit to Rengeji Temple with Nils Ferry
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Inviting Entrance path to the Renge-ji Temple, Kyoto Japan -- Renge-ji Temple -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 36 mm — 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO 450 — map & image datanearby photos
Inviting
Entrance path to the Renge-ji Temple, Kyoto Japan

I got together with long-time Kyoto resident Nils Ferry for the first time in more than a year, for lunch and a photo-walk. He introduced me to an out-of-the-way temple he likes, Rengeji (蓮華寺), not far from the river where Anthony and his son Greg played the last time I saw Nils, last summer.

(Nils was the premier Kyoto photo-blogger prior to becoming a daddy. Now that Greg is in kindergarten, he's thinking of getting back into it...)

Photo Op -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 2200 — map & image datanearby photos
Photo Op

The temple is small, but pretty, and very quiet. During the two hours we were relaxing there, just one other pair of people visited, so we essentially had the whole place to ourselves.

Old Storage Building very thick doors and walls, for before there was refrigeration -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 6400 — map & image datanearby photos
Old Storage Building
very thick doors and walls, for before there was refrigeration
Garden-Viewing Room -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO 800 — map & image datanearby photos
Garden-Viewing Room
Garden -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31 mm — 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO 640 — map & image datanearby photos
Garden

The garden somewhat reminded me of the Enkouji Temple (see this photo for comparison), which Nils brought me to on our first temple photo hunt in the fall of 2006. In some ways I expect that Enkouji is more beautiful, but since it's an easily-accessed well-known tourist spot, the crowds can kill any advantage it might have. I'll definitely try to revisit Rengeji to see its colors this fall.

One difference is that while you are allowed into the garden in both temples, you may not take photographs from the garden in this one. Bummer.

End Cap -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/125 sec, f/8, ISO 6400 — map & image datanearby photos
End Cap
Joints -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image datanearby photos
Joints
Tea and Sweet -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2800 — map & image datanearby photos
Tea and Sweet
Mini River Garden Area -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Mini River Garden Area
Nils Photographing Seiza Style -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60 mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2500 — map & image datanearby photos
Nils Photographing Seiza Style
Somewhat of a Pest Problem -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Somewhat of a Pest Problem

Some of the wood pieces in the temple showed a severe termite problem. The temple dates from 1662, and is still standing, so maybe it looks worse than it is.

Back in the entrance-path garden area, there were a few hints of autumn...

Just a Touch of Color ( some leaves are red all year... I don't think these have recently turned ) -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1400 — map & image datanearby photos
Just a Touch of Color
( some leaves are red all year... I don't think these have recently turned )
Gingko and Moss -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/100 sec, f/5, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Gingko and Moss
Gingko and Moss and Nils -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60 mm — 1/100 sec, f/5, ISO 1100 — map & image datanearby photos
Gingko and Moss and Nils

The entrance path starts at a little wooden gate, which has the most severe termite damage that I noticed. As Nils said, if they don't do something about it, it won't last more than another hundred years....

Yikes -- Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1/60 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 — map & image datanearby photos
Yikes
Renge-ji Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1/80 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 — map & image datanearby photos

Thus began our third photo hunt. I mentioned our first above; the second was two years ago to the geisha district, where his mother-in-law lives.


All 2 comments so far, oldest first...

“you may not take photographs from the garden in this one.”

Any idea why on Earth not? That seems a very odd prohibition!

It’s not all that uncommon. I can only guess at the reason, but I’d think it’s to increase sales of the photo book they sell. Dunno. It also could be that there are religious reasons why they don’t want photography back into the temple… I’ve heard of that before at other temples. Dunno. —Jeffrey

— comment by Marcina, USA on September 12th, 2009 at 2:36am JST (14 years, 7 months ago) comment permalink

At Diago-ji on my last visit to Kyoto, photography of the gardens was not allowed, I didn’t look to see if they sold a photographic souvenirs of the gardens.
I hope to visit this temple and garden during the period 15 to 31 May 2015, it looks very attractive.
Thanks to you and Nils for introducing us to this little known temple. I wonder if irises will be blooming around the pond?

— comment by Brian Win on May 8th, 2015 at 10:48pm JST (8 years, 11 months ago) comment permalink
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