I continued my pilgrimage of 33 sacred Buddhist tempes in western Japan today. I visited Rokuharamitsu-ji, which is located close to very touristy area of Kyoto. Kiyomizu-dera is perhaps less than 30 minutes walk from Rokuharamitsu-ji, and Kyoto's first Zen temple of Kennin-ji and Gion is less than 10 minutes walk, but I have been to this temple only once in my entire life. And it was about 15 years ago. It's a short walk from my routine walk path, but it's kind of maze to reach there, so I always skip this temple. This temple is closely associated with samurai Taira-no Kiyomori, who briefly reigned Japan in late Heian period or late 12th century. Last year, NHK's year-long Sunday night histroy drama took on Kiyomori, but even that did not make me to try solve maze to reach this temple. The relationship between religion, warriors, nobles, and ordinary people are complicated in Japan, but it might be so worldwide.
Anyway, in comparison to temples in Shiga that I visited last week, temple ground is very small. Threre are not much ground to walk around. You have to pay 600 yen to enter the treasure house, but aside from that, it is free to roam. I am not religious, but started to distinguish the types of statue that each temple keeps as its principal image. And I was tempted to buy booklet of Heart Sutra, which I keep seeing at each temple. It costs only 300 yen. If I skip a glass of beer, it pays. And yet I didn't. But I found Heart Sutra in Japanese on YouTube and it's enough for now.
I think this temple is very famous, but there were not many people around, so I could step in the main hall and sit quietly to look at the statue. Religious or not religious, it is good to sit quietly facing sacred statue in the heart of mundane Gion district.
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| Temple ground is not big in Rokuharamitsu-ji |
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| Stamp and seal of Rokuharamitsu-ji pilgrimage |
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