Sunday, March 26, 2006

京都 2005 - 31 Tofukuji

[261105] Tofukuji temple in e south of Kyoto has a small stream running through a little valley full of maples that burst into a riot of reds each autumn, making it one of e most well-known momiji sites in Japan. two parallel covered wooden bridges overlook e 洗玉澗 Sengyokukan valley of maples, 臥雲橋 Ga-un-kyo & 通天橋 Tsuten-bashi.

08:16AM at Ga-un-kyo:

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e view of e Sengyokukan valley from Ga-un-kyo:

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e front half of e queue at e Tsuten-bashi ticket booth (actually not really 'at', since those in e middle of e queue are already too far away to be considered 'at' e booth? =P):

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back half of e queue too far away to photograph =P siao liao. e place opens only at 08:30AM & many have been patiently queueing here for almost an hour, according to a friendly security guard. after buying tickets, proceed to join another queue to e actual bridge:

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first of e crowds move into e bridge queue:

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very systematic, very orderly, very Japanese ;)

e bridge, with traces of e water that Japanese like to splash on pavements & roads to reduce e dust (a practice called uchimizu):

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first guy literally runs onto e bridge & wastes no time squatting down to snap away with his camera:

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before e rest of e crowd closes in on him:

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e view from e bridge, without actually stepping onto it (judging from e previous photos, e cat had obviously given up on queueing to get in =P):

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meanwhile e queue continues to grow as more & more arrive:

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& e rest of Tofukuji remains totally deserted:

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this is e big fat 三門 Sanmon gate, e oldest main gate of a Zen temple in Japan, with a lavatory (*LOL*) dating back to e 14th century (*faint*).

almost decided to leave Tofukuji after taking a short walk around e grounds, but suddenly remembered that there was a garden here that was on e cat's list of 'must-see' Kyoto gardens (culled from AR1722 lecture readings, websites & travel guides). turned out to be hidden behind e walls next to e Tsuten-bashi queue:

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方丈 = hojo = abbot's quarters, surrounded by 4 gardens:

map

south garden, a kare sansui (dry landscape) garden:

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e 5 moss-covered hills & 4 groups of rocks standing in a sea of white gravel symbolise 五山 (5 mountains), 四仙島 (4 islands) & 八海 hakkai (8 seas) respectively.

tipping e garden to fit it all into e frame:

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why isn't e gravel all sliding off this thing? =P

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west garden 井田市松:

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turning e corner to e north garden, Tsuten-bashi (lit. 'connecting to sky' bridge? 'bridge to heaven'?) & e maples of Sengyokukan valley pop up suddenly:

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totally unexpected! didn't know that e bridge & maple valley could be seen from here =)) & in this northwest corner of e abbot's quarters is a little platform 通天台 for you to admire e maples while making your unwanted guest appearance in many of e photos taken by those on e bridge =P

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time to escape, after spotting quite a few visitors on e bridge appearing to point across e valley at e cat *LOL* but one last look at e maples before heading on to e 3rd garden:

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love e emerald moss & cute round shrubs of e north garden 小市松:

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e east garden 北斗七星, where e stones are arranged to form e big dipper:

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elegant combi of raked gravel + green moss + weathered stone + symbolism =)) how magical it would be to admire e south & east gardens under e light of e full moon at night *dream* to think e forgetful cat almost walked out of Tofukuji without coming to this place....!!

south garden 08:38AM:

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quite eerie to walk into such a silent empty place after encountering e crowds outside....a very weird feeling of trepidation. only after paying for e entry ticket to this garden, & e appearance of two other visitors, did e cat really feel that it wasn't trespassing into some forbidden Zen sanctuary sealed off from e outside world.

south garden 09:19AM:

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taken as e cat was leaving. like Ryoanji, this is one place you should come to at e opening time ;) fortunately, unlike Ryoanji, this place doesn't have silly commentary blasting from loudspeakers to kill e atmosphere of a Zen temple.

crossing Ga-un-kyo again, on e way out to e main road:

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visitors in e Sengyokakun valley (above) & more visitors on Tsuten-bashi directly abovehead (below):

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outside along e road leading to Tofukuji, more tourists are coming to join e queue, which hasn't grown any shorter at all:

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