{"id":1215,"date":"2009-05-25T01:16:11","date_gmt":"2009-05-24T16:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-05-25\/1215"},"modified":"2009-05-25T01:16:11","modified_gmt":"2009-05-24T16:16:11","slug":"a-visit-to-kyotos-sanzen-in-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-05-25\/1215","title":{"rendered":"A Visit to Kyoto’s Sanzen-in Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGrowing Tsukubai<\/a> Basin<\/span>\nSanzen-in Temple<\/b>\nin Ohara, a mountain suburb of Kyoto, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

Getting cabin fever from being cooped up inside due to the swine flu\nhysteria<\/a>, Fumie wanted to get out and into nature, and I was<\/span> all for\nit. We decided<\/span> to visit the Sanzen-in temple<\/a> (home page<\/a>) in\nthe mountains north-east of Kyoto, about 20 minutes by car.<\/p>\n\n

We'd gone by the unattractive bus parking lots for it many times, and so\nbased on that my preconceived image wasn't very complimentary, but it turns\nout that my prejudice was what most prejudice is: ignorant.<\/p>\n\n

The unattractive parking lots are apparently private third-party lots,\namong many dotting the main road through the village of Ohara (officially,\npart of Kyoto City). The temple<\/span> itself is set in a niche<\/span> of the mountains\nabout half a mile<\/span> off the main road, reached by a pleasant<\/span> stroll past\nrestaurants and shops that are surprisingly in good taste. (Normally, the\nenvirons around a famous<\/span> rural temple or shrine are fairly garish, and to\nme, one of the uglier features of Japanese culture.) I even<\/span> saw something\nI'd never seen before: chilled cucumber on a stick<\/span><\/i> which I can<\/span>\nactually sort of imagine as being refreshing, and chilled eggplant on a\nstick<\/span><\/i> which I cannot.<\/span> Wow.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLane Leading to the Temple<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The couple in the shot above are checking out this restaurant...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 34 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRestaurant Along the Lane<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

...which features a cute figure dressed in a costume<\/span> related to the temple...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLady Carrying a Bundle<\/span> of Sticks?<\/span>\n(if it were a real person, would babies be on her head?)\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHalfway There<\/span>\nAnthony makes the trip faster by flying\n<\/div>\n\n

The lane leading to the temple was wonderfully wooded and pleasant,\nparalleling a little<\/span> stream. I felt like<\/span> we were walking in the woods, but\nin looking at the satellite photo of the area (see the “exif & map”\nlink under each photo), I see that<\/span> it's just a little<\/span> strip like this,\nsurrounded by rice fields.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, we reached the temple and paid the 700 yen (~$7) each to get in,\nwhich is fairly pricy as temples go, but, as I soon<\/span> found out, well worth\nit.<\/p>\n\n

The grounds are made up of many temple buildings, separated by wonderful\ngardens. Being on a mountainside,<\/span> there are many different zones, each with\nits own flavor. (The Konzou Temple<\/a>, which I wrote<\/span> about last month, is also on\na mountainside,<\/span> but the two couldn't be further apart in style, feel,\npopularity, state of repair, mountain steepness, or commercialism. A comparison<\/span> would perhaps make an interesting post.)<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nInner Passage<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I'm not sure how old the temple site is, but it was founded by a guy<\/span> who\ndied in 822, so “about 1,200 years ago” would be a good<\/span> guess. I have no<\/span>\nidea what the temple name, \u4e09\u5343,<\/span> means, but the characters for it mean\n“3,000”.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nContemplation<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Patience is an important skill for a photographer.<\/span>.. I saw the<\/span> girl\nsitting there enjoying the garden, sitting seiza\nstyle<\/a>, and wanted to get the picture you see above. Unfortunately,\nthere seemed to always be someone else in the frame... people coming or\ngoing, or just wandering into frame and picking that spot to tie their\nshoe. It was surprisingly<\/span> uncrowded for a weekend<\/span> (perhaps one of the nicer\nside effects of the flu hysteria), but it was a pretty<\/span> spot and so\nnaturally there were always people coming and going.<\/p>\n\n

So I waited, and waited, and waited, and finally, for just a second<\/span> or\nthree, it was clear and I got<\/span> the shot I wanted.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The temple had a little activity for elementary-school kids (for whom\nadmission is only 150 yen to begin with), a “stamp rally” where they visit\nsix stations throughout the grounds and add a stamp<\/span> to a booklet,<\/span> then at\nthe last, when presenting the booklet filled with stamps, receive a small<\/span>\npresent. Like most children, Anthony probably prefers having teeth pulled\nin preference to anything involving nature or history or culture, so this\nstamp-rally thing made the visit appealing for him.<\/p>\n\n

Here', he's getting stamp #2...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStamp Station #2<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStamp #2<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Stamp Station #2 was near a corner of one of the main buildings, and the\nwalkway that wrapped around the outside yielded some impressive\nviews.....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 40 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView Across One of the Gardens<\/span>\nto the rear of the next temple building\n<\/div>\n\n

The grounds are filled with short momiji<\/i> maple, which are\ncertainly spectacular<\/i> in the fall, along the lines, I'm sure, with\nthe garden at the Enkouji Temple (as seen in this post of Kyoto\nfall-foliage desktop backgrounds<\/a>, and in this\nspectacular photo<\/a>), but here, there's an additional dimension lent by\ntowering cedars...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTowering<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

From about the same spot, looking back toward the mountain, I noticed<\/span> a stairway<\/span> blending in with the wooded slope...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nForest Stairway<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Anyway, back inside, to the area with “Stamp Station #2”...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAn Ornate View<\/span>\nfrom the stamp station\n<\/div>\n\n

In the center-foreground of the picture above, you can see a stack<\/span> of\nsticks (182 sticks, actually). These are gomaki<\/i><\/a>, sticks on which you write a personal<\/span> wish or\nprayer. The temple<\/span> later burns them in a ceremony,<\/span> and your wish\/prayer\ngoes with the smoke up to the heavens. (I posted<\/span> about the comparable\nShinto rite in last year's “Intense Burn<\/a>” post, and in the prior year's “Rare Shinto\nShrine-Closing Ceremony<\/a>” post.)<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, when Fumie wrote one, Anthony decided to do one as well. All by himself<\/span>, without any prompting or help, this is what he wrote:<\/p>\n\n
“<\/td>\n\n\n\u305b\u304b\u3044\u3058\u3085\u3046\u306e\u3000\u3072\u3068\u304c\u3000\u3051\u3093\u3053\u3046\u306b\u3000\u306a\u308a\u307e\u3059\u3088\u3046\u306b<\/span>\u3000\u304a\u306d\u304c\u3044\u3057\u307e\u3059<\/span>\u3000\u3042\u30fc\u3081\u30fc<\/span>\n\n<\/td>”<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n

He wrote the wrong character at the end, but otherwise it's perfect, and\nmeans:<\/p>\n\n
“<\/td>\n\n\nThat everyone on earth is healthy.... I humbly<\/span> request. Amen.\n\n<\/td>”<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n

We're very proud of him.<\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately, I missed<\/span> him actually writing it, because I was<\/span> again\nexercising patience to try to get a shot<\/span> just outside the building, of the\npath continuing on the suggested route for temple visitors, devoid of\npeople...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPath<\/span>\nSanzen-in Temple, Ohara, Kyoto Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

The small white wall toward the end of the path are ropes filled with\nomikuji<\/i> “bad fortunes”, as I wrote<\/span>\nabout here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Eventually Anthony and Fumie finished writing their gomaki<\/i> and\njoined me, and I think<\/span> I startled<\/span> Anthony or something, because I captured<\/span>\na serious<\/span> face that hints at what he'll look like as an adult...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSerious Moment?<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

He is a kid, though, so did a little dance in excitement about the\n“stamp rally” thing...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nKid Dancing a Happy<\/span> Jig<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStamp #3<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Stamp #3 was outside a smaller temple building (the one visible from the\nback, across the garden, in several of the shots above). While he was up\nthere getting his stamp, a monk<\/span> inside started giving a presentation<\/span> of\nsome sort, so they hung around a bit<\/span> to watch...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As before, I took the<\/span> opportunity to try to get a pretty<\/span> picture of the\ngardens. It was overcast<\/span> for much of the day, but the sun was showing a bit<\/span>\nat that moment, so...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSunshine at the Sanzen-in Temple<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 1000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLeaving Stamp Station #3<\/span>\n( which, as you can see, looks nicer from the front than from the back )\n<\/div>\n\n

We weren't even halfway through the grounds yet, but this post is already way too long (and I'm up way too far past my bedtime), so I'll leave the rest for another post...<\/p>\n\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getting cabin fever from being cooped up inside due to the swine flu hysteria, Fumie wanted to get out and into nature, and I was all for it. We decided to visit the Sanzen-in temple (home page) in the mountains north-east of Kyoto, about 20 minutes by car.<\/p>

We'd gone by the unattractive bus parking lots for it many times, and so based on that my preconceived image wasn't very complimentary, but it turns out that my prejudice was what most prejudice is: ignorant.<\/p>

The unattractive parking lots are apparently private third-party lots, among many dotting the main road through [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,6,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}