#kiyomizudera

京都　今宮神社　❄️雪景色❄️

kyoto imamiyajinja shrine ❄️snow❄️

京都　建勲神社　kyoto takeisaojinja

京都　平野神社　kyoto hiranojinja

京都　清水寺　kyoto kiyomizudera

京都　産寧坂　kyoto sanneizaka

京都　清水寺　❄️雪景色2022❄️ 2022年1月14日

kyoto kiyomizudera ❄️snow❄️ January.14.2022

京都　産寧坂(さんねいざか) kyoto sanneizaka

京都　八坂の塔　　kyoto yasakanoto

June 4th - Kiyomizudera / Gion

View from Kiyomizudera

     This is actually the morning of the 5th (but don’t worry prof smith it’s still before our meet time). Yesterday we met at 8:30 to go to the Kiyomizudera temple, which kind of reminded me of Asakusa back in Tokyo. It was situated on the top of a steep hill and had all kinds of shops on the path winding up to it. The temple itself is under reconstruction, so we couldn’t see the outside, but the inside was much more impressive than Asakusa. It is devoted to the goddess Kannon, and there was a huge wall full of statues of her in different positions. I felt rude taking pictures as there were many people here to worship, and the lighting was very dim anyways. But it was a very impressive temple, filled with ornate statues and ringing bells.

     Outside, as the name of the temple suggests, was a water feature. Before doing this though, we headed the other way to find an area devoted to love. There were many charms specific to relationships, but the most interesting thing was these two rocks. If you could make it from one to the other with your eyes closed, you were destined to find true love. If you need help from an outsider, your path to love would be tricky. Several people in the group tried, and although it was a straight shot there were so many people in the temple it was still very hard. Tristan made it though, so maybe I’ll check in with him in a few years to see how his path to love was.

     Then, we went to the three fountains. They fall into a lake, and you are allowed to drink the water of one. They represent love, success, and longevity, and Kannon will grant you whichever you desire. However, if you pick more than one you are seen as greedy and all three will become harder. They weren’t labeled, but everyone seemed to know which was which. When I got up there I took my best shot at finding the love one and drank that - the water was cold and fresh and it was a really good experience, regardless of what I actually chose. 

     We next headed to Gion, a high-class shopping and tea district famous for geisha. Although everything here was way out of my price range, the streets were beautiful and I enjoyed walking around. I went with prof Smith, Maggie, Alexandra, and Austin to see some of the prettier areas, and then made my way back home to take a very needed nap. We didn’t have a reading for today, so we had a free evening. I had a good time with my friends here, but I hope we weren’t too loud. This neighborhood is very residential and some people are very loud, so I do get a little nervous.

Academic Reflection

   Our reading about Kannon yesterday was very different from the readings we did before going to Asakusa. Here, Kannon was portrayed as both a benevolent and malignant being, whereas before she was shown only in a good light. While Kannon brings many material joys to people who worship her, she very clearly can also take it all away. I thought it was interesting how this story put her in a different light, and it brought up questions about why and when she is seen in this way

  While we were in Gion, I didn’t see any geisha. While I didn’t expect the street to be crowded with them, I definitely thought I would see at least some geisha in training walking together. However, as this part of the city is very exclusionary and rich, most placed featured streets with one or two other groups walking and that was it. Many of the storefronts just looked like doors to houses, but with a small sign overhead. It still looked like it could have been the 1800s, which was interesting. 

Three fountains at Kiyomizudera

One of the rocks that is meant to help you find true love

Riverside stores and restaurants in Gion