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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looking Back
on the road less taken

Picking up the story of last month's visit to the Kuuya-taki Waterfall in western Kyoto, where the story started with “Discovery On The Way to The Waterfall” and, after intermediate posts about bugs and bark, was most recently addressed in “Finally Reaching the Kuuya-taki Waterfall”.

At one point in the approach to the waterfall you pass under the stone shrine gate seen earlier, and from there off to one side are the ruins of an old stone staircase being reclaimed by the mountain. We decided to see where it went.

The staircase is very steep, and barely there. The first third or so ascends one direction at an angle up the mountain, then it bends to go straight up for the rest. The photo above is at the bend, looking back.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looking Up
from the bend

E-P2 + LUMIX G VARIO 14-45/F3.5-5.6 at an effective 28mm — ¹/15 sec, f/4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Context
Nicolas caught me blinking (cringing?), but it shows the context well
photo by Nicolas Joannin

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Half Way Up

At some point on the way up the side of the mountain becomes reinforced by a traditional Japanese stone wall, suggesting something substantial at the top....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Edge

Looking beyond the edge to the steep face and its current tangle of vines gives a good feeling of the vibe of the place...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Vibe
steep and spooky

When we got to the top, we discovered...... nothing. It was an area that appears to have been abandoned for decades, mostly devoid of man-made objects, but strewn with overgrown rubble of old tiles and stones, as if they had been discarded here long ago.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rubble

Most fragments were nondescript, but the broken tile above was one of two bigger ones that had some character.

E-P2 + LUMIX G VARIO 14-45/F3.5-5.6 at an effective 28mm — ¹/15 sec, f/4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
photo by Nicolas Joannin

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Detail

It had two inscriptions on the sides...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Clearly a Date
but I can't make heads or tails of what that date is

As best I can tell this says 「大乙五年八月之新調」 or maybe 「七乙五年八月之新調」, which means “newly made in August of the fifth year of ______”, but I can't tell what the era is. Anyone have any ideas?

Update: According to this helpful comment left below, the date is 1916, and the inscription on the following photo includes the name of the artisan who created the title.

On the other side we find an inscription that I have no clue how to read or what it means...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looking for Bugs
the tile was mostly hollow

Looking over the edge of the flat area, back down the mountain, revealed more spooky vines...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looking Down

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos

The other tile fragment of note was quite elaborate...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/200 sec, f/2.2, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Back

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Green-Painted Rock
Lichen?

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
More Vines

Continued here...