following the invasion of Korea by Hideyoshi in the 1590s.
Beyond the hall is the temple’s guardian shrine, Jishu Jinja. Though officially separated from the temple after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, it is physically part of the complex and included in the Heritage registration. The shrine is particularly popular with young women since it enshrines the deity of match-making, and it is said that those who can walk with their eyes closed between two ‘love stones’ 59 feet (18 meters) apart will succeed in finding a partner.
There are several other structures in the temple grounds, some of which are only open for viewing on special occasions. These include the Jeju-in garden with its ‘borrowed scenery’, the Koyasu Pagoda associated with easy childbirth, and the Okunoin, a smaller version of the Main Hall with a similar platform. But the main attraction is undoubtedly the Otowa Spring, which flows out of the hillside and is the very source of the temple.
In Edo times, the spring was a popular place of pilgrimage due to belief in the curative qualities of the water. It falls in three separate streams, which according to tradition represent health, longevity and success in exams. Science has proved the water to be pure, and visitors queue up to catch it in metal cups on long poles. (It is held to be greedy to drink from more than one stream.)
The route past the spring leads back to the entrance area, and those looking for closure might want to seek out the intriguing Zuiguido Hall, dedicated to Buddha’s mother, where for ¥100 you can enter pitch blackness and feel your way around a basement symbolising the womb. In this way, Kyoto’s premier World Heritage Site will leave you with a sense of being ‘reborn’ and ready to explore the stores along the attractive alleys of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka. As for the pilgrim-tourists of old, religion and recreation still go hand in hand.
The Koyasu Pagoda, set in Kiyomizu’s spacious grounds, is traditionally a place to pray for easy childbirth. Built in the seventeenth century, it stands in the south and faces towards the Hondo (Main Hall).
The temple honors a ‘hidden Buddha’ (hibutsu), which is only revealed every 33 years. The 11-headed, 1,000-armed statue of Kannon is said to have been carved by the founder, Enchin.
Dressing in traditional style remains popular with young females, who like to visit the Love Shrine as well as to take the curative waters of the Otawa Spring.
NIJO CASTLE
SYMBOL OF THE TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE’S POWER AND INFLUENCE IN OLD KYOTO
NIJO CASTLE AT A GLANCE
FEATURES Moated castle with 3 main areas: Ninomaru Palace, Hinomaru inner compound and encircling gardens.
ACCESS From Kyoto JR stn, 15 mins by taxi or 20 mins by city bus 9, 50 or 101.
PRACTICALITIES 8.45–16.00 (gate closes 17.00). ¥600. Closed Tuesdays in July, Aug, Dec, Jan. Audio guide ¥500. Castle office tel. (075) 841-0096; fax (075) 802-6181. Allow up to 2 hours for a visit.
EVENTS March–April: Cherry blossom (over 400 trees). Early Aug: Tanabata Festival and illumination. Mid-Oct–Nov: Castle festival.
DATELINE
1603—Construction by Tokugawa Ieyasu
1626—Addition by Tokugawa Iemitsu of Ninomaru Palace
1867—Tokugawa Yoshinobu cedes castle to the emperor
1939—Emperor donates castle to the city of Kyoto
From 1603 to 1867, Japan was ruled by Tokugawa shoguns who lived in Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Nijo Castle was their base in Kyoto, serving as a reminder to the emperor in the nearby Imperial Palace of the shogunate’s watchful eyes. It is not so much for its military function that the castle is admired, however, but for the lavishly decorated palace that lies within. The rooms there speak even more eloquently of Tokugawa power than the mighty walls that surround them.
The castle was erected in 1603 by the founding figure of the dynasty, Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was enlarged and completed by his grandson Iemitsu, who relocated items from Fushimi Castle built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. These included a massive five-storey tower, which afforded views over the imperial palace until it burnt down in 1750. By that time, Tokugawa rule was so stable that reconstruction was considered unnecessary. The ruined steps of the tower can, however, still be seen today.
The Karamon (Chinese-style gate), brought here from Fushimi Castle, has a curved cypress bark roof above carvings of auspicious items.
The view from the Donjon (the keep) looks across the castle’s spacious grounds towards Mt Hiei and the Eastern Hills. In total, the castle measures 1,640 feet (500 meters) by 1,312 feet (400 meters).
The bridge over the inner moat connects the Ninomaru Palace area with the Honmaru (main enclosure).
Schoolchildren file past the entrance to the Ninomaru Palace, beyond which is a series of five lavishly decorated buildings with a total of 33 rooms.
The layout of the castle comprises two concentric rings within an outer and inner moat. Visitors enter over the outer moat and through the eastern gate, passing before a guardhouse with figures dressed in period costume. A Chinese-style gate brought from Fushimi Castle gives onto the Ninomaru Palace, highlight of the visit. It consists of five connected buildings, made almost entirely from cypress, which are arranged in staggered form like the formation of geese in flight. The Nightingale Corridors, popular with tourists, have an inbuilt alarm system by which the floorboards squeak when anyone approaches.
The Ninomaru Palace buildings extend in zig-zag form towards the pond garden n structures that seem separate but are connected by corridors. In the distance, the Shiro Shoin once housed the private rooms of the shogun.
The Seiryu-en Garden on the north side of the castle was created in 1965 and has over a thousand rocks in all.
There are 33 rooms in all, with over 800 tatami mats, and in keeping with the rigid ranking of Tokugawa society there is a strict hierarchy. The first building was for reception of imperial messengers and the second for reception of feudal lords by shogunate ministers. The third was for meetings of the shogun with the so-called Outer Lords, while the fourth was for trusted allies of the shogun known as Inner Lords. (It was in one of the rooms here that the fifteenth Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu, signed his resignation in 1867, bringing to an end the
