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KVG Recommended Walking
Kinugasa & Kinukake no Michi
Historical spots of beauty, backstreets, and old local shopping charm



The Kinugasa district, with Mount Kinugasa in the background, is home to many important historical and cultural assets. Winding through the foothills of this area is a long path known as Kinukake no Michi or ''Path of Draped with Silk.'' The name comes from an event related to Japan's 59th Emperor, Uda, who desired to see a snowy landscape in the middle of summer. To honor his wish the slopes of the Kinugasa area were draped in white silk.

This month's walk begins from Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto's best plum blossom viewing spot, and leads north to the Kinukake no Michi area. Enjoy!


Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine
Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine is a protective shrine, originally dedicated to the god of thunder. But in the early 10th century, the shrine was also dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), one of Japan's greatest scholars, poets, and calligraphers. He is the only Japanese person to have been officially raised to the status of a deity, as the patron spirit of learning and culture.



Favored by Emperor Uda, Michizane was appointed to the prestigious position of minister of the right, much to the alarm of the ambitious Fujiwara Clan. The Fujiwara Clan subsequently plotted to disgrace him, and ultimately succeeded in having him banished to Dazaifu (present-day Fukuoka prefecture in Kyushu) in 901, where he is said to have died heartbroken in 903. After his death, the capital was plagued with a series of natural disasters, causing widespread fear that his vengeful spirit was taking revenge on the capital.


One of the many cow statues at Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine. It is believed that stroking these statues, especially the head, brings good luck in academic achievement.

The misfortunes in the capital stopped immediately after he was deified at Kitano Temman-gu Shrine in 947 and he has remained one of Japan's most beloved and venerated historical figures. The shrine has long been a pilgrimage site for scholars, students and writers. In 1575, Hideyoshi Toyotomi held the Great Kitano Tea Ceremony here, entertaining the citizens of Kyoto with tea and other forms of lavish entertainment.

As you walk around the grounds you will notice many cow statues (symbols of patience) and plum flower (symbolic of health and protection against bad luck) motifs.

Open: 5:30-17:30; entry to the Homotsu-den Exhibition Hall is 300 yen (Open: 9:00-16:00); Access: Kyoto City Bus #50, get off at Kitano Tenmangu-mae; Tel: 075-461-0005; http://kitanotenmangu.or.jp/


Senbon Shaka-do Temple
The main hall of Senbon Shaka-do Temple, built in 1227, is the oldest extant structure in Kyoto. In addition to the rarely-shown Shaka Nyorai in the main hall, the temple's treasure house contains exquisite statues of the infant Shaka, the Ten Great Disciples, Jizo, Fu Daishi, and six sublime Kannon statues. The temple grounds are also home to a shrine dedicated to Okame, worshipped by carpenters and people in the construction business. Okame was the wife of the master carpenter who built the temple's main hall.



Admission to the main hall and Reiho-den Exhibition Hall is 500 yen (Open: 9:00-17:00); Access: Kyoto City Bus #50, get off at Kamishichiken; Tel: 075-461-5973.


Hirano Shrine
This ancient shrine was established by Emperor Kammu, the emperor who founded Kyoto. Hirano Shrine is home to the protective deities of Japan's imperial family. It has been an important place of worship for the imperial family since it was first founded. On ceremonial days, princes, prime ministers, and other important officials still come here to pray. The main hall (Important Cultural Property) was rebuilt in the early 17th century. An immense, yet graceful, 400-year-old camphor tree stands in the center of the precinct.



Open: 6:00-17:00; Access: Kyoto City Bus #50, get off at Kinugasako-mae; Tel: 075-461-4450; http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cr8y-httr/hirano/


Kinkaku-ji Temple
The Golden Pavilion is one of Kyoto's most famous tourist attractions. Constructed as a retirement villa by the 3rd shogun Yoshimitsu Ashikaga in 1397, Kinkaku-ji Temple is symbolic of the height of the Ashikaga shogunate's political influence. The three-story pavilion, standing at the northern edge of a large pond, is covered in gold leaf (200,000 separate pieces). The rich glow of the gold shimmering in the light and reflected in the water makes the Golden Pavilion one of Kyoto's most impressive sights. It attained legendary status soon after it was completed.

The first floor is modelled on a style off architecture developed in the Heian period (794-1185); the second epitomizes the style of a temple hall; and the third a Zen temple meditation cell. The Onin War (1467-1477) destroyed much of Kyoto. However, the Golden Pavilion miraculously survived. Tragically, it was burned to the ground in 1950 by a deranged student monk, a story fictionalized in Yukio Mishima's best-seller The Golden Pavilion.

The present-day structure was reconstructed in 1955 according to the original specifications. The complex boasts a number of fine gardens, including a large stroll-type landscape garden in the area around the pavilion, as well as magnificent screen paintings by the Kano school. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Open: 9:00-17:00; 400 yen; Access: Kyoto City Bus #50, get off at Kinkakuji-michi; Tel: 075-461-0013; http://www.shokoku-ji.jp/


Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts



After leaving Kinkaku-ji Temple walk out of the temple and to the right until you come to an unusual modern white building. The Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts has a huge collection of works by the famous impressionist and abstract painter Insho Domoto (1891-1975). Insho Domoto's extensive range of works include European landscapes and wide variety of Japanese natural scenery such as mountains, rivers, valleys, and woods. His diverse modes of expression range from simple ink paintings to complex oil paintings. He generally made many sketches on site before creating the final work. The museum's current special exhibition (Insho's View: City and Nature; Until Mar. 11) includes many of these sketches along side an overview of his finest city and nature landscape paintings.


One of the paintings by Insho Domoto

Open: 9:30-17:00; Closed: Mon.; 500 yen; Access: Kyoto City Bus #50, get off at Ritsumeikan Daigaku-mae; Tel: 075-463-0007; http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~domoto/


Ryoan-ji Temple
Ryoan-ji Temple is the site of Japan's most famous rock garden. Originally an aristocrat's villa during the Heian period (794-1185), the site was converted into a Zen temple in 1450. It belongs to the Myoshin-ji School of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. Myoshin-ji Temple is just a kilometer south of Ryoan-ji.


The internationally famous rock garden at Ryoan-ji Temple © Digital na Kajiya

Little is known about the exact date of the garden's construction or who actually designed it. The garden consists of a rectangular area of raked white gravel surrounded by low earthen walls. Fifteen rocks, some alone and some on fields of moss, have been uniquely laid over the white gravel rectangle. An interesting feature of the garden's design is that from any vantage point at least one of the rocks is always hidden from the viewer.

Along with its origins, the meaning of the garden is also unclear. Some believe that the garden represents the common theme of a tiger carrying cubs across a pond or of islands in a sea, while others claim that the garden represents an abstract concept like infinity. Because the garden's meaning has not been made explicit, it is up to each viewer to find the meaning for oneself. To make this easier, early morning visits are recommended as this is when the garden is least crowded.


Stone basin at Ryoan-ji Temple; © Digital na Kajiya

Besides the stone garden, the main hall of the temple features a range of classic sliding-door Zen paintings, as well as a two smaller gardens on the north side of the hall. The temple grounds also include a relatively spacious park area with a pond, located below the temple's main buildings. The pond, part of the site's original aristocratic estate, features a small shrine on one of its three little islands that can be accessed via a bridge.

Open: 8:30-16:30; 500 yen; Access: Kyoto City Bus #50, get off at Ritsumeikan Daigaku-mae; Tel: 075-463-1036; http://www.ryoanji.jp/


Toji-in Temple
Toji-in Temple was founded in 1338 by the first Ashikaga shogun, Takauji Ashikaga (1305-1358), who had the renowned landscape designer Soseki Muso create the gardens and ponds on the grounds. The garden at Toji-in Temple is divided into an eastern and western area. At the northern end is a tea house with a thatched roof, which was built by the 6th Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimasa, in the late 15th century.


© Digital na Kajiya

The temple's present buildings date from 1818. The main hall contains an image of the Jizo Bosatsu, thought to be the work of Saicho (767-822), the founder of the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, as well as statues of all but two of the Ashikaga shoguns. The ink paintings on the sliding doors in the hall were painted by Sanraku Kano (1559-1635).

Open: 8:00-17:00; 500 yen; Access: Kyoto City Bus #50, get off at Ritsumeikan Daigaku-mae; Tel: 075-461-5786.


Ninna-ji Temple
Ninna-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Sites is the head temple of the Omuro School of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. It was founded in 888. For many centuries, a member of the Imperial Family served as the temple's head priest, and consequently the temple is also known as the Omuro Imperial Palace.



Due to the many wars and fires that ravaged Kyoto throughout its history, none of the temple's original buildings survived. The oldest buildings in the complex were reconstructed in the early 1600s, including the main hall (Kon-do Hall), the Kannon Hall, the Nio-mon Gate, the Chu-mon Gate and the five-storey pagoda.

The highlight of a visit to Ninna-ji Temple is the Goten, the former residence of the head priest' in the southwestern corner of the temple complex. Built in the style of an imperial palace, the graceful buildings, connected by covered corridors, feature elegantly painted sliding doors, and are surrounded by beautiful rock and pond gardens.

Open: 9:00-16:30; Admission to enter the palace hall: 500 yen; Access: Kyoto City Bus #26, get off at Omuro Ninnaji; Tel: 075-461-1155; http://www.ninnaji.or.jp/


Baika-sai Plum Festival
at Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine (Feb. 25)
Symbol of spring & health and protection

Plum trees were introduced to Japan from China in the 8th century and are believed to ward off danger. But most of all, plum blossoms are a sure sign that the first warm days of the year are just around the corner. There are many places in Kyoto to enjoy plum blossoms. The most popular by far is Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, home to nearly 2,000 plum trees. This shrine has become synonymous with plum blossoms, which are a prominent decorative motif in its lanterns, tiles, and woodwork. From mid February to mid March, the plum orchard southwest of the main shrine is open for public viewing.



The shrine's Tenjin-san Flea Market and Plum Viewing Festival are both on the 25th of this month. The highlight of the Baika-sai Plum Festival is an outdoor tea ceremony, performed by the geiko and maiko of nearby Kamishichiken district. A bowl of whipped green tea with a sweet is 1,500 yen. Prayers are said at 10:00; the tea ceremony is held from 10:00 to 15:00.

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