The Philosopher's Path

 

The Philosopher's Path, or Philosopher's Walk, got its name from 20th century professor Nishida Kitaro, who used his daily walk along the canal as a meditation ritual. It's famous for its cherry blossoms in the spring. During the rest of the year, it still provides a nice place for a stroll between the temples of northern Higashiyama. 

I was worried my camera was out of commission permanently after the rain at Fushimi Inari had left it malfunctioning. It refused to turn on and when I took out the memory card, water droplets stuck to it. I stuffed a cloth lens wipe into the memory card slot and sat the camera in a sunny patch on our Airbnb floor to dry out. My phone served as my backup. Luckily, it was a dry, gorgeous day.

After stopping for a quick Starbucks breakfast near our apartment and spending a few minutes at Heian Shrine, we caught a cab to the Silver Pavilion. It's official name is the Temple of Shining Mercy - Jisho-ji - but it's widely known as Ginkaku-ji. Ginkaku-ji was originally a shogun's retirement villa and gardens, but the shogun decided it would become a Zen temple after his death. The shogun also meant for the main temple structure to echo Kinkaku-ji - the Golden Pavilion - which had been built by his grandfather. Plans to cover the hall in silver never happened. 

We arrived early enough that the temple was still fairly empty. We wandered through tall box hedges to the entrance, where there was a window to drop off your shuin book. Once inside, we passed by the rock garden, with its large pile of gravel that echoes the shape of Mount Fuji. The temple was lovely - the buildings felt small and intimate, like a home, but the property was also beautifully landscaped and ran up into the eastern hills. (We saw signs warning against wild boar at Fushimi Inari and again at nearby Otoyo.) Maybe it was just because it was the first temple we spent time at in Kyoto, but the Silver Pavilion may have been my favorite of the larger, traditional temples. 

After picking up our books at the exit, we spent way too much money at the gift shop. Monica got beautiful bookmarks for her coworkers. I bought a magnet, candy, and a couple of cellphone charms. I got my first Hello Kitty themed-charm of the trip here - Sanrio seems to have one for every major tourist site in Japan. 

We walked to Honen-in, a smaller temple I'd seen recommended a couple of places. Our walk led us through some peaceful neighborhood streets, which was neat. Honen-in was magical, all stone and moss, and very quiet - almost abandoned aside from caretakers sweeping the walk. Somehow, with its stone stupas, it felt more pan-Asian than specifically Japanese, if that makes any sense. We stumbled upon the graveyard, which we strolled through. 

 

Next was Otoyo, a small shrine that featured mice, a snake, a hawk, a monkey, and dogs. Monica tried looking up the meaning of the animals on her phone. The mice were said to have helped a god escape a burning field, allowing him to marry the princess he loved. The shrine is well-used by locals, to pray for love and children. When we were there, it was brightly festooned with Tanabata papers as well. 

 

After leaving the shrine, we walked along a pretty and peaceful section of the Philosopher's Path that ended at Nanzen-ji. Compared to the other temples we'd visited that day, Nanzen-ji was large - both the grounds and the buildings. (It has about a dozen smaller sub-temples within.) The structures were dark and imposing. A brick aqueduct seemed intriguingly out of place. I went in the Hojo to see the painted screens and Monica and I both climbed to the top of the Sanmon Gate for great views of the sprawling temple complex.