Kyoto

I have not posted in quite a while, I`m sorry about that. There has been lots of Japanese language exams, speech contests group projects etc at JIAM lately so I haven`t had much free time. Last week however, we did go on a study tour to Kyoto, and visited many famous sites. As you probably know Kyoto is another former Imperial capital of Japan. In fact is was capital form about 794 right up until 1868 when power was transfered to Edo (Tokyo). Whilst there was visited Kiyomizu-dera (pure water temple), an 8th century temple, with a waterfall near by that is said to cotain pure water with healing properties. We also visited Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple) which is a pavilion entirely covered in pure gold leaf. It is a pretty amazing site, as you can tell from the photo to the left. Originally it was build as a villa for the Yoshimitsu Shogun, however years later his son became a Buddhist monk and converted it into a temple. The picture below is from the large beautiful garden which surrounds the temple.

Next we visited Nijo-jo the famous residence of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was built relatively close to the imperial palace as a show of power by the shogunate, as historically there was tension between the imperial court and the shogunate as to who would actually control the Japanese government. It was at this sight that the administrative power was eventually handed back to the Emperor, culminating in the Meji restoration. The castle is also the site of the famous `nightingale floor` mentioned in Australian author Lian Hearn`s novel Crossing the Nightingale Floor. Under the floor boards, metal struts are installed, so that as you tread over them they make a noise, alerting body guards to the presence of any would be assassins. Photography is prohibited in the inside of the castle, but the photo below shows the elaborate gate at the castles entrance.