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Temples and Shrines
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Temples and Shrines
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It was founded in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the transfer of the capital to Heiankyo (Kyoto) and in the hope of reviving Kyoto, which had been devastated by the upheavals at the end of the Edo period. It is a place that symbolizes the culture and history of Heiankyo.
The Tale of Genji is set in the period when Heiankyo was flourishing. Visitors can experience the elegant scenery reminiscent of the world portrayed in the tale.The Daigokuden of Heian Jingu Shrine is a reproduction of the main hall of the Chodoin. The “Chodoin”of the Heiankyo Imperial Palace in Heiankyo was used for national ceremonies and was one of the most important government buildings within the Imperial Palace.It is designated as a National Important Cultural Property, together with the Otenmon , a reproduction of the main gate of the Chodoin. The view that Hikaru Genji would have seen is reproduced here.
Surrounding the shrine building, the gardens display seasonal beauty throughout the year ーーweeping cherry trees in spring, irises in summer, autumn leaves in autumn and snowy landscapes in winter. The Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages), which began at the time of the shrine’s foundation, continues to this day ,and its grand procession, often called a “moving picture scroll of history and customs”, is cherished as one of the three great festivals of Kyoto.
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[Access]
Heian Jingu Shrine is in the Okazaki area of Kyoto, within walking distance of Higashiyama Station (10 minutes) on the Tozai Subway Line and Jingu-Marutamachi Station (15 minutes) on the Keihan Line.
[Address]
97 Okazaki Nishitennocho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8341
[Tel] +81 075-761-0221
This shrine’s formal name is Kamo-mioya-jinja. Together with Kamigamo Shrine, the shrine complex is collectively called Kamo Shrine. It is also sometimes informally referred to as Shimogamo-san. This is the location in the Tale of Genji where the conflict between Lady Aoi, Genji’s wife, and Lady Rokujō, Genji’s mistress, takes place during the Aoi Festival. In addition, Genji composes a song at Shimogamo Shrine during his travels.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 1, 4, and 205
Bus stop names: Shimogamo-Jinja mae, Tadasu no Mori (a few minutes walk after getting off)
[Address]
59 Shimogamo Izumikawacho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒606-0807
[Tel] +81 075-781-0010
In the year 678, Kamigamo Shrine was built at its current location to the north of Shimogamo Shrine. The two shrines are collectively called Kamo Shrine or Kamo Jinja. After Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyō (present-day Kyoto), successive emperors visited the shrine as protectors of the imperial palace. The shrine’s formal name is Kamo-wake-ikazuchi Shrine. Kamigamo Shrine is revered by many people and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The Aoi Festival, where Lady Aoi and Lady Rokujō competed for a better carriage position in the Tale of Genji, is a major festival held there. Additionally, this was where Murasaki Shikibu, the author of the Tale of Genji, wrote traditional Japanese poetry called waka.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 4, 46, and 67
Bus stop name: Kamigamo-jinja (immediately after getting off)
[Address]
339 Kamigamo Motoyama, Kita Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒603-8047
[Tel] +81 075-781-0011
Originally, this location was built as a royal villa for Emperor Junna. In 896, he summoned the Buddhist high priest Henjō and it became an official temple called Unrin-in. In those days, troubled poets would gather there to write songs. The temple also appears in the 10th chapter of the Tale of Genji, titled “Sakaki,” and is the location where Genji secludes himself out of frustration when he is rebuffed by his love interest, Lady Fujitsubo. Furthermore, the grave that is believed to be Murasaki Shikibu’s is nearby this temple.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 1, 12, 204, 205, 206, M1, and 北 8
Bus stop name: Daitoku-ji mae (1 min. on foot)
[Address]
23 Murasakino Unrin-incho, Kita Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒603-8214
[Tel] +81 075-431-1561
Ninna-ji Temple is now the head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon sect of Buddhisn. Originally named Nishiyama Gogan-ji, construction began during the Heian period (794-1185) under the 58th emperor of Japan, Emperor Kōkō, and was completed under his successor, Emperor Uda. Once the site of the Omuro Imperial Palace, its large temple grounds were designated as a historically significant location. The temple was also registered as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Emperor Uda was the brother-in-law of the great grandfather of the Tale of Genji’s author, Murasaki Shikibu. In addition, in the 34th chapter of the story titled “Wakana: Jō,” the retired Emperor Suzaku entrusts his daughter, Lady Nyōsan, to Genji and enters the priesthood at Ninna-ji Temple.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 10, 26, and 59
Bus stop name: Omuroninna-ji (immediately after getting off)
[Address]
33 Omuroouchi, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒616-8092
[Tel] +81 075-461-1155
High Priest Chōnen had planned to model Mt. Atago after Mt. Godai in China and then construct Dai-Seiryō-ji Temple, but it was not completed. His disciple, Seisan, enshrined a statue of Buddha in Shaka-dō which Chōnen had brought from China, marking the beginning of this temple. The temple that Genji constructs in the story, Saga-no-midō, was modeled after Seiryō-ji Temple, where people have gathered since ancient times to worship the Buddha statues there. Also, this is the place where Genji spent his final years after entering the priesthood.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 28 and 91
Kyoto Bus: 62, 72, 92, and 94
Bus stop name: Sagashakado-mae (5 min. on foot)
[Address] 46 Sagashakadofujinokicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒616-8447
[Tel] +81 075-861-0343
Between the 7th and 14th century, the Saiō was a female member of the royal family selected to serve at the Ise Grand Shrine on behalf of the Emperor. Nonomiya Shrine was the place where the Saiō purified herself for a year before going to Ise. Nonomiya was built in Sagano, which was considered a pure and sacred place surrounded by a small brushwood fence and several torii, traditional Japanese gateways. The location of Nonomiya is not fixed and the current shrine is located at one of its former sites. This shrine appears in chapter 10 of the Tale of Genji as the location where Genji and Lady Rokujō part ways. It is one of the most famous scenes in the story and is set in Sagano in autumn.
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[Access]
Randen Line: Randen-Arashiyama Station, on Arashiyama Main Line (10 min. on foot)
Kyoto City Bus: 11, 28, 93, and 特93
Kyoto Bus: 62, 72, 92, and 94
Bus stop name: Nonomiya (5 min. on foot)
[Address] 1 Saganomiyanomotocho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒616-8393
[Tel] +81 075-871-1972
Tenryū-ji Temple was built in 1339 to pray for the salvation of the late Emperor Go-Daigo. To complete the temple, two trade ships were sent to China, and the profits were used to fund construction. After initial construction, the temple was hit by eight large fires, the first of which took place in 1345; however, it was rebuilt each time it burned down. Today it serves as the headquarters of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. The temple grounds once extended across large swaths of the Arashiyama area. The residence of the Tale of Genji’s Lady Akashi is thought to have been close to the nearby Katsura River.
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[Access]
Randen Line: Randen-Arashiyama Station, on Arashiyama Main Line (3 min. on foot)
Kyoto City Bus: 11, 28, 93
Kyoto Bus: 62, 72, 92, and 94
Bus stop name: Arashiyama Tenryūji mae (immediately after getting off)
[Address] 68 Saga Tenryūji Susukinobabacho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒616-8385
[Tel] +81 075-881-1235
The Origin of Rozanji Temple dates back to around 940, when Yogan-Kongo-inn Temple was built in the south of Funaoka Mountain. Then, Kakuyo, a disciple of the high priest, Honen, opened a temple called Rozanji Temple on Izumozi in 1245. Later, a priest, Myodo Shogen, who was the chief priest of both temples at that time, merged these two temples into one and it all became known as Rozanji Temple. After being destroyed by fires several times due to events such as the Onin War, the temple moved to its current location in 1573.
The current location is on land that was a spacious estate passed down from Murasaki Shikibu's great-grandfather, Kenesuke Fujiwara, to her uncle, and then to her father. It was within this estate that Murasaki Shikibu lived her married life with Fujiwara no Nobutaka, raised her only daughter, and wrote The Tale of Genji.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 3, 4, 17, 37, 59, 205
Kyoto Bus: 21, 23, 41, 43
Bus stop name: Furitsuidai-mae (5 min. on foot)
[Address] 397 Kitanobecho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒602-0852
[Tel] +81 075-231-0355
Kiyomizu-dera Temple was built in 780 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. Since long ago it has been familiar to people from all walks of life, and its beloved appearance has been depicted in history books and literature. In 1994, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto. In the Tale of Genji chapter 4, “Yūgao,” a distraught Genji cremates the body of his fallen lover Yūgao near Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 58, 80, 86, 202, 206, 207
Kyoto Bus: 18 ,86
Bus stop names: Kiyomizu-michi, Gojozaka (10 min. on foot)
[Address] 294 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒605-0862
[Tel] +81 075-551-1234
The Shosei-en Garden is a detached enclave to the Higashi-Honganji Buddhist Temple (formally referred to as the Shinshu Honbyo). The land upon which the garden is situated was donated to the temple in 1641 by Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. Although the buildings at Shosei-en were destroyed by fire twice at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868), they were reconstructed in the Meiji period (1868-1912) and have been maintained in their present state until today. We can enjoy the scenery of the garden that is beautifully transformed by its perennial trees and flowers each season. Rai San’yo (1781-1832), a historian of the Edo period, introduced some of its scenic spots in his work as the "Thirteen Views of the Shosei-en Garden." Those spots are widely acclaimed for their beauty today. He also introduced a legend that the garden was once the site of the Rokujo Kawara-no-in residence built for Minamoto no Toru (822-895), the Minister of the Left in the Heian period (794-1185). He is believed to have been the model for Hikaru Genji, the main character in the famous Tale of Genji.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus: 4, 17, 205
Bus stop name: Kawaramachi Shomen (3 min. on foot)
[Address] Shimo-juzuya-machi-dori,Aino-machi higashi-iru,Higashi-tamamizu-cho,shimogyo-ku,Kyoto,Kyoto 〒600-8505
[Tel] +81 075-371-9181
The official name of this temple is “Kyō-ō Gokoku-ji Temple.” This temple has a long history going back about 1200 years since its foundation. It is Japan’s first Esoteric Buddhist temple, and the head temple of the Shingon Buddhist sect. It was originally built as a national temple to coincide with the relocation of the capital to Kyoto in the Heian period. Later, Emperor Saga entrusted the great Buddhist teacher Kūkai to manage the temple. The five-storied pagoda, at the time the tallest in Japan, contains Buddhist relics brought back by Kūkai from the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Saga was a leader in early Heian politics and culture, and he praised the Tale of Genji. His son was Minamoto no Tōru, said to be the inspiration for the character Genji.
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[Access]
Kyoto City Bus:
18, 特18, 42, 71, 特71, and 207; Bus stop name: Toji Temple Higashimon mae
16, 18, 特18, 19, 42, 78, 202, and 208; Bus stop name: Toji Temple Minamimon mae
16; Bus stop name: Toji Temple Nishimon mae (immediately after getting off)
[Address] 1 Kujocho, Minami Ward, Kyoto, Japan 〒601-8473
[Tel] +81 075-691-3325
"The Tale of Genji" is a classic work of Japanese literature, and well known around the world. "Classics Day" was declaredon November 1, 2008 at the 1,000 year anniversary of "The Tale of Genji", and was later officialy established by law. Let's use this day to familiarize ourselves with the classics, the crystallization of wisdom that answers the eternal questions, "What is a human being and what is life?"
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