{"id":2344,"date":"2013-11-25T18:29:15","date_gmt":"2013-11-25T09:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2013-11-25\/2344"},"modified":"2013-11-25T18:29:15","modified_gmt":"2013-11-25T09:29:15","slug":"a-temple-with-extra-restrictions-on-photography-is-now-my-favorite-kyoto-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2013-11-25\/2344","title":{"rendered":"A Temple with Extra Restrictions on Photography is Now My Favorite Kyoto Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHarsh<\/span>\nconditions of entry to the Hokyo-in Temple (\u5b9d\u7b50\u9662)<\/span>\nKyoto Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

This is a followup to yesterday's\npost\nwith\nphotos from the Hokyo-in Temple<\/a> in Kyoto,\na temple<\/span> with some of the most harsh, restrictive anti-photography policies I've ever encountered.<\/p>\n\n

On one end of the spectrum are places that allow even tripods, such as\nthe Yoshiminedera\ntemple<\/a>. Moving along toward more restrictions, the Heian Shrine allows\ntripods, but only if you pay a ¥2,000 (about US$20) fee. Most places\ndon't allow the use of tripods at all, but the Hokyo-in Temple featured\nyesterday doesn't even allow you to have a tripod<\/span> in your\npossession<\/i>. Even if securely sequestered in your backpack, you're\nsimply not allowed in.<\/p>\n\n

😍<\/span>This is my new favorite temple.<\/b> 😍<\/span><\/p>\n\n

But not for the reasons you might think. First, let me go over the rules....<\/p>\n\n

The sign above says:<\/p>\n\n

\n

For the preservation of the temple grounds:<\/p>\nPeople in possession of a tripod<\/span> or monopod,\nor people whose main intention is photography\nare refused entry.<\/b>\n

The use of large and medium format cameras is prohibited.<\/p>\n

If done without causing a nuisance<\/span> or destroying the garden,\nthe use of small cameras (up to 35mm) is permitted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

There were two of these signs at the entrance, the other one being a good<\/span> 5 feet tall.<\/p>\n\n

If you have a tripod with you, you have to leave it at the entrance with your shoes.<\/p>\n\n

As I wrote in “<\/span>On Photography and Rights<\/a>”<\/span>\nsix years ago, I'm a strong<\/span> proponent of owners' rights (if it's yours, you\nhave the right to decide whether to share, and if so, under what\nconditions). It's nice that on their web site they take the time to describe exactly why<\/i> they have these rules. As you might<\/span> imagine, it can be summarized as “<\/span>because in the past, cameramen\nwere rude, selfish assholes”<\/span>. (Pardon my spicy, but\nappropriate, English)<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe Calm<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 180 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe Storm Behind the Calm<\/span>\nshowing where I was when I took the “<\/span>calm”<\/span> photo\n<\/div>\n\n

The photo above, showing a few folks taking pictures at the end of the\npath, was probably the most calm that “<\/span>storm”<\/span> was all day, because the\ngarden had just opened and the crowds had not yet gotten oppressive.<\/p>\n\n

Can you imagine a half a dozen folks with tripods vying for position,\nyelling at temple visitors — some of which may have the audacity to consider\nthe temple visit an actual religious experience — to get out of the way?\nNobody that I would<\/span> visit with would ever act that way, but I can<\/span> certainly imagine it.<\/p>\n\n

Heck, just a couple of weeks ago at the Honen'in Temple<\/a> I was<\/span>\nshocked to see a photographer<\/span> with a tripod<\/span> yelling down a path<\/span> at someone\nto please get out of the way. I was doubly<\/span> mortified for fear I'd be lumped\nin with him because like me, he had a camera<\/span> and was Caucasian. I made sure<\/span>\nto stay away from him.<\/p>\n\n

Whether the selfish jerk is wielding a tripod<\/span> or a cigarette<\/span> or a\ntoo<\/span>-loud iPod or boorish manners, it takes only a few<\/span> bad apples to ruin\nthe experience for everyone, both in the short run, and, as we'll see, in\nthe long run.<\/p>\n\n

Going back to this temple's web page, they explain<\/a> that\nprior to 1989 there were no restrictions on tripods or large-format\ncameras, but they had increasing troubles with photographers causing a\nnuisance,<\/span> and actually causing damage to the temple grounds. It got so<\/span> bad,\nthey explain, that they started to hear from their true target demographics\n(Buddhists who want to visit the temple for its religious significance) that\nthis temple was to be avoided due to the rude cameramen.<\/p>\n\n

So, eventually they prohibited tripods, and relied on the honor system for them to\nnot be used. They write:<\/p>\n\n

\n

People would say “<\/span>I won't<\/span> use the tripod, I promise<\/span><\/i>”<\/span> and\nwe'd let them bring it in with them, but while viewing the garden their feelings would change\nand they'd forget their promise and whip out their tripod. This happened all the time.<\/p><\/div>\n\n

So, they eventually had to ban the tripods altogether.<\/p>\n\n

And remember, this was back leading up to 1989, in the purely film era.\nJust imagine how bad it'd be now in the digital era, at an\neasily-accessible photogenic-but-cramped place like this.<\/p>\n\n

So, despite the harshness of the signs, the jerks in this case are those\nphotographers 25-35 years ago.<\/p>\n\n

I wish the restrictions weren't there, but I can<\/span> understand why without\nbeing told, but I really<\/span> appreciate the long thoughtful explanation on\ntheir web site, so it's now one of my favorite temples.<\/p>\n\n

As a bonus, they even have the foliage-color\ntimeline history<\/a> on their site, so you can know when the colors have\ntraditionally been best. There's quite a range,<\/span> from the peak falling on a\nNovember 15th (1997)<\/span> to a December 4th (1994)<\/span>. The median<\/span> looks to be about November 27.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

I try<\/span> to always be respectful when in a temple<\/span> or shrine or other\nreligious place, but that goes double when I have<\/span> a camera.<\/span> Whether I like<\/span>\nit or not I'm representing all photographers, and all foreigners, and all\nAmericans, so I try<\/span> to act accordingly. But mostly<\/span> it's just because (I\nthink<\/span>) I'm a considerate<\/span> person, thanks to how my parents raised me.<\/p>\n\n

In my experiences out and about with the camera in Japan, I find that<\/span> most people are pretty reasonable,\nwhich is why the tripod-yeller mentioned above was such a shock.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 1000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFrom a Respectful<\/span> Distance<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/1.6, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nShort Fully-Appropriate Pause<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/1.6, ISO 125 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWith Overt Politeness<\/span>\n( that's a rickshaw driver taking a photograph<\/span> for his customers )\n
Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n1280×<\/span>800<\/a>  ·  1680×<\/span>1050<\/a>  ·  1920×<\/span>1200<\/a>  ·  2560×<\/span>1600<\/a>  ·  2880×<\/span>1800<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/1.6, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTemple Visitors<\/span>\ndid not come to watch you take pictures\n<\/div>\n\n

Sometimes I run across very strange warnings or prohibitions, and wonder\nwhat set of circumstances lead to the need to warn or prohibit the\nseemingly-innocuous thing in question. I wish I<\/span> could remember some of the\nexamples I've run into recently...there have been some doozies.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a followup to yesterday's post with photos from the Hokyo-in Temple in Kyoto, a temple with some of the most harsh, restrictive anti-photography policies I've ever encountered.<\/p>

On one end of the spectrum are places that allow even tripods, such as the Yoshiminedera temple. Moving along toward more restrictions, the Heian Shrine allows tripods, but only if you pay a ¥2,000 (about US$20) fee. Most places don't allow the use of tripods at all, but the Hokyo-in Temple featured yesterday doesn't even allow you to have a tripod in your possession. Even if securely sequestered in your backpack, [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,14,1,2,6,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344"}],"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=2344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}