Ryoushin no Ryokou Part 5: Forgotten Gemini

The inner courtyard of Nishi Hongan-ji.

Immediately after posting my last update, I remembered that Ma and Pa and I hadn't lollygagged the morning away that lazy Sunday. To the contrary I had them out the door extra early so that we could check out the massive Hongan-ji temples that lie between the station and our hotel. So, please allow me to atone for my earlier mistake by entertaining you now with the tails of Kyoto's twin temples: Nishi and Higashi Hongan-ji.

First Stop: Nishi Hongan-ji

We first tried to find this temple late in the afternoon of our first day. However, both temples are surrounded by extensive walls, and, by the time we found the entrance, it was closing time. Undaunted, we set out on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning to see the temples in depth. We went to Nishi (West) Hongan-ji, first, as Higashi (East) Hongan-ji was closer to the station.

The temple, with its intricate ornamentation, was built in 1591 by Toyotomi HIdeyoshi, as the new headquarters for the True Pure Land school of Buddhism, which had accumulated a large following, both philosophically and militarily. Originally just Hongan-ji, the modern-day temple is the head of over 10,000 smaller temples and 12 million followers world-wide.

The temple's main buildings, the Goe-do (Main Hall) and the Daisho-in Hall, are some of the largest in the world, and boast lavishly decorated golden interiors. We walked around on the inside, and I might have snapped some pictures if a Buddhist service wasn't being conducted at the same time! That was a pretty cool site to watch.

Second Stop: Higashi Hongan-ji

After perusing the temple grounds for a good 30-45 minutes, we decided to make our way to the eastern twin, Higashi Hongan-ji. this temple was established in 1602 by Toyotomi's successor and founder of the Tokugawa Bakufu, Tokugawa Ieyasu. He perceived the growing power of the Hongan-ji temple as a threat, and encouraged a break-away faction to found this rival temple in order to weaken the hold of Hongan-ji. While the buildings of the Higashi complex are much larger than those of its western counterpart, they are not as intimately decorated, and many appear to be rather worn with age, despite having been rebuilt as recently as 1895. Still, the interior halls of these giants are spectacular and well worth an hour of time, should you get the chance to visit Kyoto.

You can check out the rest of my Hongan-ji photos on facebook, here.