Japan Navigator

Is there anything to do for tourists in Osaka? Yes, quite a lot, and here we will introduce one of the best places to go for traditional culture: Shitennoji Temple. Due to war and destruction the temple now is dressed in modern concrete garb, but it preserves many precious treasures and traditions and is the [...]

Read Full Post »

Hyogo’s history museum stands fittingly in Himeji, on a plot of land behind the soaring walls of the castle and close to the Museum of Modern Art. It was designed by Tange Kenzo. On the first floor are two large rooms for the permanent exhibition. The first one is dedicated to the “Primitive Ages” (some [...]

Read Full Post »

moon, look sad,
as I will tell the story
of Akechi’s wife
tsuki sabiyo | Akechi ga tsuma no | hanashisen
Basho

Basho admired the wife of one Yugen of Ise, with whom he once lodged. The haiku master was very well taken care of during his stay and he used this haiku to praise Yugen’s wife. The poem refers [...]

Read Full Post »

Kiyomizu Temple always seems to have space in its wide grounds for the endless stream of visitors making their way up the slopes around Gojo and its pottery district. Perched on stilts on a hillside in eastern Kyoto, with the famous platform jutting out into the valley, doubtless Kiyomizu is one of the most impressive [...]

Read Full Post »

A few years ago, during a visit to the Kyoto National Museum, I was struck by a hanging scroll of a monk meditating in a dense forest. It was an intriguing painting. The black-robed monk was sitting in a tree, where the trunk split into two wide branches and formed a natural seat. His rosary [...]

Read Full Post »

When you say Kyoto, you say Gion, the traditional pleasure quarter at the foot of the Yasaka Shrine. Although Hanamikoji, the street south of Shijodori starting with the Ichiriki Teahouse, may be most the most famous part of Gion, there is also a nice section north of Shijodori, along the Shirakawa Canal. Here the protruding [...]

Read Full Post »

2nd Sat. Oct. – First Sun. of Dec. Kyoto: Ginkakuji: Special opening of the Hojo (Abbot’s Quarters), Togudo and Roseitei Pavilion.
Information: Office of Jisho-ji (Ginkaku-ji) 075-771-5725 (Japanese only)
Access: Short walk from Ginkakujimichi bus stop (bus 5 from Kyoto St)

Oct. 1, Munakata (Fukuoka Pref., Kyushu): Kaijo Jinko-sai, Munakata Taisha.
The Kaijo Jinko or Procession of Gods [...]

Read Full Post »

Basho visited Kurobane in 1689 during the first stage of his trek to northern Japan. Two of his disciples – brothers – were living here (one of them was the steward of the feudal lord of the small castle town of Kurobane) and Basho stayed here for a full 14 days, the longest break on [...]

Read Full Post »

Honenin is a small temple dedicated to Honen (1133-1212), the founder of Jodo Buddhism. It lies in Shishigatani, east of the Philosopher’ s Path which runs along a small stream from Ginkakuji to Nanzenji and skirts along the foot of the Higashiyama range. the path is so called because the philosopher Dr. Nishida Kitaro, who [...]

Read Full Post »

Hosshoji Temple is so small and undistinguished, that our taxi driver has great problems locating it. The road on which it stands (Fushimi Kaido) is narrow and only allows one-way traffic, so that what should have been a short ride from Kyoto Station ends up in a wide circular drive. The taxi driver stops several [...]

Read Full Post »