I managed more than I expected, given how I allowed myself to be sidetracked from time to time in various and sundry shops along the way. The Philosopher's Path is not a shopping street or anything, but there are little restaurants, traditional Japanese craft or goods shops here and there along the way.
It would appear the pH of the soil along Testugaku no Michi is quite varying,
judging by the range of colors of the hydrangeas.
Quite the enchanting window...
Inside the shop were more traditional Japanese clothing, an attractive selection of men's Hawaiian shirts, handbags, purses, wall-hangings, and other household decorations.
As I continued down the Path, I watched the signs and turned up towards the hill once I saw one with an arrow and 'Hounen-in' written on it. Once I reached the foot of the hill and didn't immediately see an obvious temple entrance, I turned right and continued southwards on the street. I asked an older gentleman ambling snail-like on the side of the road if he knew where or how far it was, and he told me he was looking for it too. This was just as we approached an break in the woods. You'd probably miss it if you weren't looking for it, or if you didn't recognize the kanji for temple on the sign (and there were no signs in English in the immediate area.)
Hounen-in's temple itself wasn't opened for public viewing at that time, but the quaint little pond-garden and grounds made for a lovely stroll anyway. Hounen-in's full name is Zenki-san Hounen-in Babukyouji, because the temple lies at the foot of Zenki-san, is named in honor of the priest Hounen, the founder of the Jodo sect of Buddhism, and the Chion-in priest Bambu, who had suggested Priest Ninchou to build Hounen-in's Hondo,
This appears to be a raised sand garden, essentially...
This building in the background is actually an art gallery. That day, it exhibited primarily the work of Seifu Tominaga, rather modern and spiritual Buddhist work. These particular pieces had great emphasis on balance and harmony, using heavy white and black areas accented with rich gold leaf. The very congenial Tominaga-san also showed me some of his family members' creations at the front table: his daughter's illustrations and son's photography. Artsy must be in their blood. I bought a set of postcard prints of a white and a gold dragon, the last two pieces in this gallery. His wife--I think it was his wife--was very kind and gave me a couple extra postcards as a gift...or maybe she was somehow impressed with my lame attempt at holding an artistic conversation with a professional artist.
If you're interested, here are links for the Japanese artists whose works were recently displayed at Hounen-in's gallery:
Yoko Nishijima: gorgeous, nature-inspired pieces
Mayumi Nishijima: light, cute and simple illustrative style (and her site has a fantastic web design)
Past the still pond garden and characterful, twisty-gnarly trees went the stone path, and the stone path lead to stone steps...
A statue of Amida Nyorai (I believe), who is the principle deity worshiped at this temple.
Bussokuseki engravings are one of the oldest types of Buddhist art.
The soles and toes of the "footprint" contain common Buddhist symbols, such as chakras or svastikahs. The chakra is a wheel symbolizing Dharma, and kyouji--the original left-facing svastikah--represents Buddhist faith and virtue. Svastikah in Sanskrit means "fortunate"
or "auspicious," and the symbol is often used on maps to mark the position of Buddhist temples.
I left shortly after they rang the bell at the temple signaling their closing time, and decided to continue going down Tetsugaku no Michi, if only to see what was there.
A couple of interesting houses along the way
This gentleman was selling some pretty impressive (and very expensive) jeans with similarly airbrushed dragon design prints. But what really got me was Godzilla on the antique bike toy here.
I'm glad I took his advice.
This guardian lion-dog really reminds me of Dug...
"My master made me this collar.
He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar
so that I may speak--Squirrel!"
It is said this hidden jewel of a shrine was built in 887 to pray for Emperor Uda's recovery from an illness, and is now considered a local guardian shrine. Ootoyo Jinja enshrines Sukunahikona no Mikoto, a kami of medicine, Emperor Ojin's kami, and Sugawara no Michizane/Tenjin.
The lady manning the shrine's diminutive office explained to me as she was
putting the shrine seal in my book that at the nezumi were the kami's messengers
and helpers at Ootoyo Jinja.
Ootoya Jinja's Inari sub-shrine
On the opposite side of Testugaku no Michi from Ootoyo Jinja's entrance was an antique kimono shop and cafe. I couldn't help but have a look, even though I couldn't afford anything there. But the shop-lady there helped me learn a new, useful word. Fuinki means atmosphere, mood, or ambiance. The fuinki of this place was fantastic: a cozy space dimly lit with a warm gold, almost smokey with incense, surrounded by towers and piles of kimono, yukata, obi, haori, and happi coats.
One of Kyoto's many strays, enjoying the evening, on a bench, on a hill overlooking now-silent temple grounds.
(The rock-senbei man offered to take a picture...I think he probably thought the camera was a real piece of work. Most people seem impressed by the swivel-action lens and are surprised to learn it's about seven years old.)
