Autumn Walk in Kyoto – Tofuku-ji, Tōji, Chishakuin Temples
A walk in Kyoto, when you can see autumn leaves in the city’s temples.
Tofuku-ji Temple
Tōfuku-ji (東福寺) is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama Ward in Kyoto, Japan. The temple takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.
It is one of the so-called Kyoto Gozan or “five great Zen temples of Kyoto”. Its honorary sangō prefix is Enichi-san (慧日山).
Tōfuku-ji was founded in 1236 by the imperial chancellor Kujō Michiie. He appointed the monk Enni as founding priest, who had studied Rinzai Zen Buddhism in China under the monk Wuzhun Shifan.
The temple features a large number of Japanese maple trees, and is most crowded during the autumn season when people flock to see the autumn foliage. It is a tradition to view the leaves from the Tsūten-kyō bridge.
Tōji Temple
Tō-ji Temple (東寺, “East Temple”), also known as Kyō-ō-gokoku-ji (教王護国寺, The Temple for the Defense of the Nation by Means of the King of Doctrines) is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the Minami-ku ward of Kyoto, Japan.
Founded in 796, it was one of the only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city at the time it became the capital of Japan.
As such it has a long history, housing treasures and documents from the early Heian period and the Tang dynasty, and with buildings in its complex covering the Kamakura, Muromachi, Momoyama, and Edo periods.
Five of these buildings have been designated National Treasures in two different categories: the Lotus Flower Gate (rengemon), the Miei Hall (mieidō), the Golden Hall (kondō) and the five-storied Pagoda (gojūnotō) (temple buildings) and the Kanchiin Guest Hall (kanchiin kyakuden) (residences).
Tō-ji was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, as part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.
Chishaku-in Temple
Chishaku-in (智積院) is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, Japan. It is affiliated with Shingon-shū Chizan-ha Buddhism. It was established in 1601.
The temple has a historic garden that was said to be a favourite of Sen no Rikyū.
The Nihonga artist Inshō Dōmoto received a commission from the monastery to paint new sliding doors facing the famous garden.
“Ladies at Tea” from 1958 shows a more western-style painting of two women enjoying tea. The left side is a woman in kimono, while the lady to the right is in western dress. The four sliding doors were a departure from the traditional style.
Video Source: 行って良かった❗京都の紅葉🍁東福寺エリア~勝林寺・智積院・東寺🍂Autumn leaves in Kyoto Japan from Kyoto trip TV on Youtube ⁄ CC BY
