Odor Whiter Than Flowers - Walking in Kyoto

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😀

My longing for Kyoto probably started years ago when I read Yasunari Kawabata's “Ancient Capital”, and has since deepened through many movie-watching and reading experiences. When I finally came to Kyoto this summer, I found it to be quieter and more quaint than I had imagined. It's a “living” capital, where people still live, not a hollowed out tourist attraction.

So my trip to Kyoto was a solo stroll without any plan. Just like Hajiro Taniguchi's manga “Going for a Walk”, every day in Kyoto, where to go, what to see, is just random.

I saw this tablet in the courtyard of Zenlin Temple, took a picture and sent it to a friend to help translate it, and when I wandered to the next temple my friend sent me a text: The Buddha is always present, unobtrusive, silent and unheard of at dawn, appearing in a hazy dream.

Eustoma has been seen in many temples in Kyoto, with small blue-purple bells dotting the slender stems of the flowers, bringing a touch of spirit and playfulness to the silent gardens of dry landscapes.

The water lilies at Tianjuanan. It was already late afternoon when I went there, and most of the water lilies had closed up and gone to sleep, with only a few scattered ones still in bloom, so I also took a nap under the eaves of the temple.

Riding the Ruiyama train to Guifune Shrine, the driver slows down a bit when passing through a section of the mountain road with maple leaves all along the way, allowing visitors to enjoy the endless greenery outside the window. At that moment, I actually thought that some of the students I had taught before, who loved railroad culture, would like it here.

I was hiding from the rain in the mountains, and when I looked up, there was a Kawabed restaurant called “Pillow Stream Pavilion” across the street, with a stream gurgling under the curtains.

Walking into the empty Yuan Guang Temple at dusk, there were only cicadas, the sound of running water and a cool evening breeze. I squatted in front of the Shuiqin Grotto and recorded a small video to pass on to my friend, “I hear it, the faint sound of running water, and the cicadas!”

Visiting Tang Zhouti Temple was like having a conversation with myself who walked into the Yangzhou Jianzhen Memorial Hall more than a decade ago. Beyond the ancient architecture, what struck me were two haiku written in honor of the blind monk Ganjin.

Green leaves dripping, wiping the tears from the eyes of the teacher. --Pine-tailed Plantain

Using the soft, tender leaves of the mizunara as eyes, I smell the odor that is whiter than flowers. --Kitahara Shiraki

In Nara, you will always meet deer, which are more like the masters of this small town.

Uji is a small place where you can “walk slowly and enjoy”. The quiet Uji River runs through the town, and there are matcha stores along the river where you can sit down and have an ice cream.

When a city has a river, the atmosphere becomes different. Just like the Uji River is to Uji, the Kamogawa River is to Kyoto. My place in Kyoto is located in a small alley near the Kamogawa River. Walking along the Kamogawa River in the evening, sitting casually on the riverbank with locals and tourists from all over the world, and waiting for the sky to darken, is the most enjoyable time of the day.

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