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In Kyoto, there are thirteen temples, three shrines and one castle which are inscribed as world cultural heritage. We would like to introduce some of them:
1) Ninna-ji Temple
Ninna-ji Temple is famous for the "Omuro cherry blossoms", which are shorter in height when compared to other cherry trees. The Emperor Uda founded the temple as his house in the year 888. There is the inner gate, the inner temple which was removed and reconstructed from the Imperial Palace, and the five-story pagoda Kannondo - temple. It is a magnificent temple and appeared in “Essays in Idleness” and “The-Ten-Foot -Square Hut”, Japanese historical essays. There is a small hiking trail on the mountain behind the temple. It is called Omuro-88, where pilgrimages can be made by going around the courses. Omuro-88 was created 180 years ago by using the sand which was brought from Shikoku-88, where Koubou-Taishi performed ascetic training."Koubou-Taishi is the Buddhist monk who brought to Japan the basics of current Japanese Buddhism". In Omuro-88, there are 88 temples along the route; Buddha and Koubou-Taishi are enshrined in each temple. In the original 88 places in Shikoku, the average time spent to complete the pilgrimage would have been approximately 50 days, but in this miniature course, one can visit all the temples in less than 2 hours. Many people use the trail as a hiking course, enjoying the four seasons of Kyoto and the view of Kyoto-city.
2) Nijo-jo Castle
Nijo-jo Castle was built as a rest house in Kyoto by Tokugawa Ieyasu who was the first Sho-gun in the Edo period. The purpose, at that time, was to watch the imperial family who resided in Kyoto. This castle is known as the place which performed "The Restoration of Imperial Rule" ceremony where the last Sho-gun Keiki returned political power to the imperial family. Each family has their own emblem in Japan. The family emblem of the imperial family is the "chrysanthemum" and the Tokugawa family is the "Aoi". When it was decided that Nijo-jo Castle would be returned to the imperial family, the Tokugawa changed all of the emblems from "Aoi" to the "chrysanthemum" throughout the entire castle. However, some emblems of "Aoi" are still left in several places throughout the castle. The reason these were overlooked was due to the time constraints provided for exchanging all the emblems in the large Nijyo-jo Castle. The cause for the urgency was due to the preparations for "The Restoration of Imperial Rule" ceremony. The changing of the old emblems to the new emblems was so hastily carried out that what should have been right side up was now upside down.
(Picture image)
Starting from the top, No, 83 in Omuro-88, Nijo-jo Castle, Crest of Chrysanthemum and Crest of Aoi (hollyhock).
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