This Tuesday’s report will offer Westerners some insight into life in Kyoto in the age of Covid. I know I said last week’s report would be the last, but I have more observations over the next few days. So we come again to the final report of the year. I will continue this series when I return to Kyoto in 2023.
textiles again
I was cycling back to the Textile Center the other day to show a friend all the great old machines and stuff there.
This photo is me and Mr. Textile sitting at the entrance to welcome visitors.
I hope you can tell the difference.
I’m the one with the glasses!
Unfortunately, we’re close to closing, so we’ll have to save the full tour of all the machines for next year.
Toji Temple
On Friday, I got off at the terminus, had a few hours to spare, and caught up with- hope to see – Return to Shinagawa (Tokyo) and catch another suburban JR train to Haneda for a late night flight back to Australia.
I left my travel bag at the Cloak facility near Kyoto Central Station (ecbo – very nice and inexpensive) and walked to Toji Temple – Temple complex, about 20 minutes walk southwest from the station.
On past visits to Kyoto, I have never been to this complex.
This is a great place.
The engineers and designers back then knew a few things.
The all-timber structure is designed to resist earthquakes. Each floor is designed to sway independently (like a “snake”), with various wooden struts constructed to transfer torque back to the center of the structure to avoid instability.
It’s a remarkable feat and an amazing building.
Here I support the famous five-storied pagoda (five-storied pagoda), which was built in the Edo period in 1643, after the previous tower was destroyed by fire.
There are other fabulous buildings in the complex.
Kondo-do or “Golden Hall is the main hall of the temple, containing the statue of the Yakushi from 1603”.
On its raised platform are three huge golden statues – the so-called “Triad of Apothecaries”.
The wooden beams supporting the structure are huge.
The pharmacists are considered the “Pharmacist Buddha” and they would pray to the statue in hopes of healing various ailments. On either side are statues depicting “Nurses”, one representing night and the other representing day.
These are the Sunshine and Jake Bodhisattvas who have delayed their journey to enlightenment in order to help humanity.
This is what I learned from a kind Japanese man who saw us looking at the sign in the temple and came over to help.
Then I received the full story of the 24/7 health care service from the statue.
Another building next door to Kondo Hall us – Kodo Hall – dates back to 825 and is the complex’s main educational lecture hall.
The current building replaced that which was destroyed in the great fire of 1486 and was later reproduced in its current state.
The building has a total of 19 Buddha statues (arranged like a mandala).
Another great build.
signature
This is Kyoto in 2022.
In the next period of time, I plan to learn more Chinese characters so that I can read newspapers and all signs.
I will also complete the language courses I have started before taking advanced courses.
When I return in 2023, I hope to be relatively fluent in English, which will lead to more opportunities to have fun.
Holding your iPhone up to a sign to translate them when there are more hiragana and kanji than you know is suffocating.
Enough for today!
(c) Copyright 2022 William Mitchell. all rights reserved.
