Kitano Temman-gu Shrine in Kyoto

Have you ever smelled plum blossoms floating on the Spring air? The sweet, alluring scent and the vivid white and dark pink blossoms of 2000 trees spring out at you when you approach the Kitano Temman-gu Shrine. The shrine was built in 947 in honor of a great scholar, Sugawara Michizane, so many students come here to pray and write wishes on wooden tablets prior to high stakes admissions tests for high school and college.

This shrine has a particular feel to it; I'm beginning to think that each shrine does. There is a 10 foot wide sidewalk leading up to the temple entrance which is lined on the left by various food vendors and on the right by a lone row of concrete lanterns, a wall and then an orchard of plum trees. Unlike Fushimi-Inari's fox statues, this shrine has sculptures of cows as the cow is the gods messenger here. This shrine also has hundreds of concrete lanterns that stand about 6-7 feet high and are singularly shaped. This ancient shrine's entrance gate composed from carved, dark, almost black wood with gold embellishments and highlights of white paint. Inside the gate, there are stone paths that run to the left, center and right. On the right, is a statue of a kneeling cow with a bib. On the far left, there was an open-air lounge area with fantastic centuries-old artwork adorning the ceilings and tables with calligraphy brushes and jet black ink for composing one's wishes the small wooden planks. In the middle on the left were more concrete lanterns interspersed with plum trees, their nearly black, delicate limbs covered in flowering white and vibrant pink blooms.

I chose the left path that took me to some minor shrines on the edges of this complex. I observed racks hung with thousands of wooden prayers. The rain made mud-soup pools around the racks. Circling clockwise, I headed toward the main temple building, which is considered a national treasure and observed the covered and lantern strewn corridors lining the square open-air temple site. This layout reminded me of the design of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Locations around the main area were for teachers and pupils to meet and discuss. Occasionally, I'd see a brightly painted carved wooden spirit or demon. Aside from the gorgeous blooms and the incredible architecture, there was one more delight in store for me here. As I continued my clockwise progress around the complex, now accompanied by Mr. Fujita, we came across a sign for the Treasury. I had no idea what a Shrine Treasury was all about, so we decided to find out. The entrance fee was so worth it to glimpse the Shrine's treasured objects that included six 2 foot tall wooden carvings of angry demons, 2 sets of Samuri amour and saddles, ancient scrolls, two Samuri swords sharp as Jon Stewart's wit with their ornate silk ribbons scabbards, paintings on scrolls of sea battles and court archery contests, portraits of scholars, and one massive painting of a horse-riding, sword-swinging Samuri. Mr. Fujita and I were in awe.

Random Animalistic Observations

The raccoon dog is a creature of interest in Kyoto. It looks like a raccoon, but has a round body of a small bear. Represented in many small carvings and sculptures, it has a smiling face. It is considered a symbol of welcome, wealth and happiness.

Dragons are also present in many forms in the various temples and shrines. I saw a gorgeous painting of one dragon in black ink that spanned an entire wall of about 20 feet long. Other forms were small key chains, images on t-shirts and paintings available for sale at the temples and shrines. What I find so appealing about the dragon images is that they are usually painted in vibrant colors and have swirling curls and lines that contrast with their sharp teeth and jagged back ridges. These creatures fly too, so they whirl dangerously in the air.

Singha, Fu dogs or lion-dogs are present in many forms as sculptures in gardens and in paintings. They are depicted with curly manes and a single horn in the center of the head. They are typically juxtaposed to lions, which appear with only curly manes. Lion-dogs are usually on the left and have gritted teeth as though saying /nm^m:/, which is the last character in Japanese; Whereas the lion is usually on the right hand side and has an open mouth, because they “speak” the /aah/ sound, the first character in Japanese. Think of it as the representation of alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.

Other animals of curious interest are: the phoenix, the cow, the stork, and the carp. All these animals make their way into the lore of the temples, shrines or into the daily lives of the people.