Kyoto and Ieyasu Tokugawa

We've only been in Kyoto for 2 1/2 days and already we feel like we're a world apart from Tokyo. Kyoto is a modern city, but it is steeped in tradition and culture. There are 1600 temples in Kyoto - 1600! How is that even possible?

On our first, full day in Kyoto, Monday, we spent the morning visiting the Path of Philosophy and Ginkaku-ji. The Path of Philosophy was previously a stroll path that let up the hill to the famous Ginkaku template (ji means temple), but it's now a path of tourist shops and food stalls. The path is still pleasant, as the views are great and I enjoyed my mochi cakes and green tea smoothie. Ginkaku-ji (or Silver Temple) is set in the hills and boy were we rewarded when we got there. The colors are at their peak of changing color, so we got to enjoy views of the temple and gardens set in a riot of greens, yellows and reds. I especially enjoyed the raked Zen garden and the view of the temple from the top of the hillside.

Next stop, the Imperial Palace, which is where the emperor lived for nearly a thousand years while the (official) capital was in Kyoto. Kevin said he's used to the castles and palaces of Europe, which are lavishly furnished and decorated, while the palace in Kyoto is made of beautiful, wooden structures that are sparsely furnished with tatami mats and beautiful screens, but no furniture.

On Tuesday, we visited the Nijo Castle, which was the home of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa. Ieyasu was really the ruler of Japan, making his home in Edo, and visiting Kyoto only several times during his tenure. Nijo is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it's magnificent. In fact, Ieyasu specifically made his castle and grounds more lavish than the emperor's palace to show who was boss. There are actually many, many buildings in the castle complex, including a moat and several gardens. I LOVED the nightingale floors in the main castle building. The floors squeak and sing like nightingales when you walk on them; this was done to prevent intruders from entering without warning. We also appreciated the little anterooms off the main rooms, where the shogun's bodyguards would hide and emerge from, in the event of an attack against the shogun. Finally, the main garden is unbelievable. Rocks are placed beautifully, there are several waterfalls, and the views are spectacular and ever-changing as you walk around this garden of rocks, bushes and low trees.

Here's a link to Wikipedia's entry on Nijo Castle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nijo_Castle

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Ieyasu Tokugawa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ieyasu_Tokugawa

On a separate but related note, I found out from Maki that CJ is named after Ieyasu Tokugawa. CJ's Japanese name is Yasuhiko; Yasu is from Ieyasu and hiko is a male suffix common in Japan. How this bit of information escaped me all these years, I'm not quite sure. All I know is that when we were coming up with names, Maki and his dad were in charge of CJ's Japanese name and I remember that they wanted the health character to be in his name. I like the idea of my son being named after the shogun who united Japan and was the most powerful shogun in history. :-)