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OptimImagery

  3. TRAVEL: 2007 through 2011
  4. APRIL, 2008 JAPAN (KYOTO TRIP)

KYOTO I

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We are on the grounds of the old Kyoto Imperial Palace. As you can see, the cherry trees are blossoming, which creates a magical atmosphere here (more about that later).
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We are on the grounds of the old Kyoto Imperial Palace. As you can see, the cherry trees are blossoming, which creates a magical atmosphere here (more about that later).

kyotosakurajapanbeverli joi cherry blossomsflowers

  • We are on the grounds of the old Kyoto Imperial Palace. As you can see, the cherry trees are blossoming, which creates a magical atmosphere here (more about that later).
  • "The folk that have been attracted thither and the poets do all with one voice acclaim this Heiankyô, the capital of peace and tranquility." --- Emperor Kanmu, Eighth of November, 794. With these words, the Emperor set about to create a city to rival the most advanced and powerful cities of China.
  • Rotate LeftRotate Right<br /> I'm sure that these trees don't date back to 794. Well, maybe I'm not so sure. Anyway, the kind folks of Kyoto obviously take good care of their geriatric arbor-citizens, providing limb-crutches where needed. I wonder how old this tree really is?Edit caption
  • Japan's first Imperial Palace was built on or near these grounds in 794. Several fires through the ensuing centuries leveled palaces, which were re-built. The current Kyoto Imperial Palace, located behind the wall to your LEFT in this photo, was built in 1855. While the "real" Imperial Palace of Japan is now in Tokyo, official state ceremonies and enthronement of new emperors still take place here. There is a lesser palace of some sort behind the wall to your right. I did not realize that to see inside these walls, one must ask for an invitation. Apparently it is no big deal, and it is my understanding that tourists are routinely granted such invitations, but it takes time, and we decided to be content seeing the walls and moving on to other parts of town.
  • I did think that maybe if I leaned on the gate long enough they would get the hint and invite me in, but to no avail.
  • I've got to admit that on first starting to walk around Kyoto, each time we would see a building similar to this I would think "Wow! A super-interesting shrine!" Starting about day 2, however, with such sights I would think "Oh, just another shrine." I've also got to admit that I had that same experience last year in Tokyo. Shrines are EVERYWHERE, some dedicated to noble things like peace and prosperity, some to individual poets and artists, some dedicated to things which apparently loose a lot in the translation from Japanese to English, and just make a Westerner like me think "huh?" It's fascinating how people are so much the same, and yet we all bring our pasts forward and subconciously use the filters of our ancestors in our attempts to understand what is around us. Definitely Japan has a rich history which has created interesting priorities.
  • The Japanese even have a word for "viewing cherry blossoms:" They call it 'hanami.' The practice was probaby well-established by the early 700's and it seems to be laced with emotions of joy and wonder, along with a reverence from antiquity.
  • Rotate LeftRotate Right<br /> Notice all the cherry blossom petals on the ground here. I am not sure I have ever been any place with this many people (there were thousands walking around this area) where as high a percentage at any one time all had cameras up taking shots.
  • For me (again, with my Western filters), it is quite confusing to read about what the cherry blossom means to the Japanese. They see hanami as a time to get in touch with the transient nature of life and all the things we experience. In the coming and passing of the cherry blossoms, they see the rise and fall of the Samarai. They re-live the ascendant preeminance of the Emperor, only to be supplanted by the powerful Shoguns, whose control in turn waned as power was returned again to the Emperor. The first Emperors believed that their heirs would rein forever. No one expected to challenge the Samarai and live to tell about it. And the Shoguns' ability to rule was considered unchallengeable. The illusion of permanence is seen as being as captivating as the beauty of the cherry blossoms. Then come the winds of change.....
  • Even in the absence of wind, these marvelous miracles of nature, powerful enough to draw the human eye away from all things we consider less attractive, are as (forgive my jumping to Native American symbolism now) dust in the wind.
  • Rotate LeftRotate Right<br /> But, for a few days, much joy comes from holding them, throwing them into the air, watching them as they appear on the trees, as they fall like snow, and as they cover the ground and float on the water. WE, such powerful creatures we are, can watch the symbols of empires being built, ravaged, and re-built, of wars and warring cultures making peace, of cyclic calamities and austerity giving way to prosperity and good fortune. With the wisdom of the filters of culture, we can be one with nature and one with history through the magic of hanami.
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  • We are an interesting species, in that as we view and philosophise on these symbols of the transient, we take photos to have a permanent reminder. Hundreds of years ago, Japanese artists drew and painted these blossoms. I guess that some things do stay the same, even if the manifestation changes (from pen and paintbrush to lens, film, and digital capture).
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  • Looking down through cherry branches into the stream, with floating petals and koi.
  • Gee, it almost looks like she is taking a photo of US!
  • Oh! I guess she WAS! By the way, this little walkway along the stream is actually called "The Philosopher's Trail," so I guess it sort of brings that out in a person.
  • We left the Philosopher's Trail for a bit, and headed through this quaint and very busy village in northeast Kyoto, on our way to Ginkaku-ji, or the Temple of the Silver Pavilion. I like the lady just beyond (and to your right from) Bev in the white sweater holding a camera and quite passionately eating....something.
  • Here we are at the entrance of Ginkaku-ji.
  • The Silver Pavilion was all covered with scaffolding and screen while we were there, being refurbished. The concrete cone you see is a symbolic representation of Mt. Fuji.<br /> <br /> On the "Map This" function (accessible by clicking the button above this photo), this photo is marked exactly on the Mt. Fuji model.

  • OptimImagery

    on October 14, 2009

    Comments have been brought over from the old KodakGallery Album. Where there were multiple comments, the lower ones were made earlier, with the last one on top.

    1. tom.Thursday, May 15, 2008 4:21:02 PM
    ...i've seen this woman recently; very recently as a matter of fact, like, yesterday, you know!...?...!

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