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photos from around kyoto on 7th april 2003. we went to nijyou castle, ryoanji - where all my batteries failed, so you only get one photo of what i think was the nicest of the places i visited on that trip! - kinkakuji, ginkakuji and kiyomizutera. we stayed in a little ryokan - traditional travel inn - in central kyoto, and the next morning i went wandering around the nearby streets, before the others awoke.. including to kodaiji temple. some photos come from that preambulation.

nijyou castle was built in 1603 by the first tokugawa shogun: ieyasu tokugawa. i contains the ninomaru palace which has walls painted by members of the kano school, and the so called "nightingale floor" - used to wind up ninja attempting assassination. the castle was enlarged by third tokugawa: iemitsu in 1626.... ryoanji temple was built in 1450 by katsumoto hosokawa. it is a zen buddhist temple with a extremely good rock garden, and other more usual, but none the less interesting, gardens elsewhere.... kinkakuji, or the golden pavillion temple, was built in 1397 by yoshimitsu ashikaga (the third ashikaga shogun). it contains a large pavillion on a a lake surrounded by lovely gardens. the pavillion is painted with gold leaf and japanese black laquer [the laquer is more expensive]. it is a rather remarkably gold sight.... ginkakuji, or the silver pavilion temple, was build in 1489 by the eighth ashikaga shogun: yoshimitsu ashikaga. there is no silver, but there are more lovely gardens, including a number of stone gardens and a moss garden.... kiyomizu temple, or clear/pure water temple, was built in 798 by tamuramaro sakanoue. the temple is set up against a forested mountain with impressive gardens all around. the temple itself is huge, with a large number of disparate bits, some in wildly different style to others, including some very colourful red temple roofs. a very interesting place..... kodaiji temple was built in 1905 by nene/kita no mandokoro, the wife of hideyoshi toyotomi [dicator before the start of the tokugawa shogunate]. it's a small, but rather pretty temple in central kyoto.

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