The Eye of Patrick

During my stay in Japan I have gone to many difference places, but none have come close to matching the sheer beauty and reverence that Kyoto is able to generate.

It is a history of 1000s of years. This has lead to many unique and wonderful buildings being built. While on in exchange in Japan I had the opportunity to visit Kyoto many times. While there is many temples in Kyoto, the one that I enjoy the most is Kiyomizudera Temple. The reason that I like this temple so much is because no matter the season or time of day the temple has something uniuque to offer. Whether it be the lush green forests in the spring and fall, or the changing of the leaves in the fall, each one is so beautiful and magasjtic that you can’t believe that this is your 2nd or 3rd time because it feels as awe inspring as the first time you went.

Here is some history on the temple:

“Kiyomizu-dera (or Kiyomizudera, 清水寺) refers to several Buddhist temples but most commonly to Otowasan Kiyomizudera (音羽山清水寺) in Eastern Kyoto, and one of the best known sights of the city. The temple dates back to 798, but the present buildings were constructed in 1633. The temple takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills - kiyoi mizu (清い水) literally means pure water.

The main hall of Kiyomizu-dera is notable for its vast veranda, supported by hundreds of pillars, which juts out over the hillside and offers impressive views of the city. The expression “to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu” (「清水の舞台から飛び降りる」) is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression “to take the plunge”. This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive jumping from the stage, one’s wish would be granted.

This appears plausible: the lush vegetation below the platform might cushion the fall of a lucky pilgrim, though the practice is now prohibited. 234 jumps were recorded in Edo period and of those, 85.4 percent survived. The fall is indeed only 13 metres, which remains impressive for a wooden construction.” Source

The text below is from my post on my 2nd visit to the temple, I tried to preserve as much of the original text as possible, in the to leave as much of the raw emotion and expression that came from the visit.

I think no matter how many times I visit Kyoto I will ever get tired of it, there is something about that town that is enchanting and draws me back again. The 2nd day of my friends’ trip to Kinki was a trip to Kyoto. We were going to do the traditional stuff, like visit Kiyomizudera Temple. This was my second visit in a long time, as the first visit was at the beginning of the year and I was unable to visit it during the changing of the leaves. But I was lucky this year as the leaves changed not so quick this year so I was able to get the tail end of the change in colours.

We entered the temple in the afternoon, so I was worried we would not be able to get any good pictures. But we were able to get a lot of the golden afternoon light, so I was lucky. The reason that I like this temple so much is that it stands out their on top of a hill and you look out on Kyoto and you feel this is a old country. In Canada so many things that we call old would be considered new. But in Japan they have been able to preserve a long tradition of culture.

I feel lost for words so I will just cut to the chase and post my pictures.